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Vivisection  reform  society. 

Illustrations  of  hunan  vivisection. . .  Vivisec- 
tion  roforin  society,  1906. 

cover  title,  23  p.    24  en. 


Half  title. 


Volume   of  painphlets 


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FILM     SIZE:      6S 


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HLMEDBY:    RESEARCH  PUBLICATIONS.  INC  WOOD13RIDGE.  CT 


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BY   APPLIED   IMAGE,     INC. 


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ILLUSTRATIONS 


OF 


Human   Vivisection 


^^  Gross  abuses  in  any  prof ession  should 
not  be  hushed  up,  but  should  ratUr  be 
made  public  as  freely  as  possible,  so  as 
to  rouse  public  opinion  against  them  and 
thus  render  their  repetition  or  spread 
impossible.  .  .  ,  The  whole  medical 
profession  must  reprobate  cruelties  such 
as  these  perpetrated  in  the  name  of 
science."— Bkitish  Medical  Joubnal. 


VIVISECTION     REFORM     SOCIETY 

1906 


^. 


* 

t 


U 


VIVISECTION    I< 


n,  r  \J  r:.  j^i 


ha^  been  :nc  ro  rate  I  a^  the  exponent  of  the  principle  which  demands,  not  liic 
rnt'v  V  o -r^on  ^.t    .  .ciei  -  a    niethod.  bur  urevention  of  the  abuses  which  pertain 

experimentation    a-    ifCitiiiiaU:    aiiu   ii-at.      carnea    uu    ik._\i^u.i 
vivisection  bec';)rue-^  nl(,)^^l!OU^   ciiia   Lniti.   ..^   ,ia_..i..>.,  ^.^    .^  '-      .  -     - 

the  cause  of  science. 

The   Society   i^   ntterlv  opposed  to  human   ViVi>ection   as   dUiMrated  ^in  tm> 
pamphlet,   no  >;iatter  zvhat  way  be  the  emmence  oi  the   men   'eho   Piacfke  and 

defend  it. 

The  vivisection  of  animals,  carried  on  without  le-al  re-ulation.   sometiiaes 

ron.fitutes  a  form  of  scientific  torture,  which,  m  the  words  of  the  late  Dr.  Henrv 
T.  BiRelow  of  Harvard  Medical  School  "is  more  terrible,  by  its  refinement  and 
the  efforts  to  prolong-  it,  than  burning  at  the  stake.''  We  shall  aim  to  make 
this  crueltv  impossible,  except  as  a  crime. 

To  suppress  such  abuses  as  are  admitted  to  exist,  and  to  effect  this  without 
interference  with  any  form  of  research  conducted  under  State  supervision  and 
guarded  against  abuse,  is  the  object  of  the  Society. 

The  Vivisection  Reform  SociErv  appeals,  therefore,  for  encouragement 
and  support  to  all  who  have  at  heart  the  honor  and  interest  of  scientific  advance- 
ment and  the  prevention  of  injustice  and  cruelty. 

The  fee  for  annual  membership  is  $2.00;  for  life  membership,  $25.00. 


i 


I 


\ 


,v 


VIVISECTION 
REFORM    SOCIETY 

Incorporated  in  1903,  under   the  Laws 
of  the  United  States 


PRESIDENT 
David  11.  ('o(;iikan.  IMi.  l>..  Id..  I  >. 

l.ato  Frcsia<-nt  of  the  l'..lvtcchnio  Institute,  l?rooklyn,  N.  V 


SECRETARY 
SvDNKV   Ui(  iiMoNi)  T.\r.i:u 

i;U  MoiLidnock  Blo^-k,  Cl.uaiio,  111. 


treasurf:r 

Knw.VKi)  M.    SA.MI  KL 

iri)  Rialto  Buil.linp,  Chicago,  111. 


DIRECTORS 


David  II.  ("(HMnan.  IMi.D..  LL.  1>. 

lloii.  .laiin'sM.  IJrowii.  Couiist'llor  at  Law 

Titus  Miiiison  C'oan.  M.  1>. 

Svdiu'V  niclimond  TiiImm-.  ( "(.iiiisrllor  at  Law 


llrooUlyii,  N.  Y. 

Toledo.  Ohio 

New  York  City 

Cliicaf^o.  Ill- 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 


r,itltiitiim  .   .1/''. 
Tnronl" 


Ills  Linin(Mu'(\  ranliiiaMatiH's  Gibbons        .         -  ••         •         • 

IMcl'.  (loldwin   Smilli,   D   C  L..    LL.  D.  •         •  " 

i»    i>      I  1      I)       r\-I*i«'sid(iit  oi    1   iiiveisit.v  ot 
Prof,  .loliu    i'.ascouK    1 ».  1>.,    LL.  D.,    (X  m»sh  ]y,ii,„,nstn,r„.  Mnss. 


Wiscoiism 

,l,,„   .lacnl.M.dallinovr,  M.  D..  r.  S.  Sfnalor 

n,n^\.!.-,  N.Wat.nnan.  LL.  I>...x-.ln(i^-.olllli.HU>.\|>polbtr(ou.t 

KranriN  ri^luT  r>rown.  Editor  of  -'Tl'^'  1>':'^*"      •         •         "         * 

Edward  11.  (MrnuM.i .  Editor  of  "  Lvrni.icr  Traiisnipt   • 

Heuiv    M.    KiHd,    M.  D..   lute    EnuTitus    Lmfcssor  of  Thrrapeut  u-> 

Dartmoiitli  Mi'dical  Collc*:-^  •••••■ 

Charles  W.  Dnll.s,  M.  D-  Lertinvr  on  History  of  Mrdirin..  I  n.vcrs. 

of  IVMiiisylvania        •■•••*'■ 
Alfonx)  David  Kockwcll.  M .  D.     . 
Samuel   .\.  .loiH's,  M.  D. 
Kev.  Ercderic  Howlaiid  Marvin.  M.  D. 
Pniies  H    Glass.  M.  D..  Sui-von  of  Ltica  Giiy  Hospital 
R,v    Kranri^  H.  Kowlev.  D.  iK.  Pastor  ..f  Pirst   I'.aptist  C^lunvh 
Uev.  Lrverett   W.  Sprin^^  1  >.  L-   IMolessor  of  Lb^^lish  Literature  m 
Williams  Col le^^e '         *         " 


( 'jiii-iiijii.  //^ 

(  'jiiriKjii.    III. 
lioslnn,    Mii.^.<. 

I'lisddi  iin.  (  '"/• 

I'hihidi  Ijthio 

Xcir    y<ni-  Cil'J 

Ami  Arlior.  Mich. 

Alhiiti!/.    V     )". 

viicii.  y .  )  • 

li(i,<t<>ll.    M<iss. 

Will  ill, itstotrn.  Mnss. 


^::<: 


VIVISECTION 


R  E  F  O  R  M     b 


Incorporated  in  1903,  under  the  Laws 
of  the  United  States 


PRESIDENT 


David  H.  Cochran,  Ph.  D..  LL!  D. 

Late  President  of  the  Polytechnic  Institute,  Brooklyn,  N.  Y. 


SECRETARY 
Sydney  Richmond  Taber 

5ji  Monadnock  Block,  Chicago,  111. 


TREASURER 
Edward  M.  Samuel 

109  Rialto  Building,  Chicago,  111. 


DIRECTORS 


David  11.  Cochran,  Ph.D.,  LL.  D. 
Hon.  James  M.  Brown,  Counsellor  at  Law 
Titus  Munson  Coan,  M.  t).  ... 

Sydney  Richmond  Taber,  Counsellor  at  Law 


Brooklyn.  ^^   Y. 

•      Toledo,  Ohio 

New  York  City 

Chicago,  111. 


VICE-PRESIDENTS 

^    J.     IT        «/^,-v.K^r.o                                                 .  Baltimore,  Md. 

ITis  Eminence,  Cardinal  James  Gibbons '      ■ 

Prof.  Goldwin  Smith,  D.  C.  L.,  LL.  D 

Prof.  .Tohn  Bascom,  D.  P.,  LL.  O.,    ex-President  of  ^^"'--'^^ ''V.^,,,,,,,^,,,,^  3,^, 

Wisconsin n         ^    isr  m 

Hon.  Jacob  M.  Gallinger,  M.  D.,  U.  S.  Senator  ....         CoiM  IS.  n 

Hon.  Arba  N.  Waterman,  LL.  D.,  ex-Judge  of  Hlinois  Appellate  Court  Chicago,  111. 

Francis  Fisher  Brown,  Editor  of  '*  The  Dial " 

Edward  H.  Clement,  Editor  of  " Evening  Transcript" 

Henry  M.  Field,  M.  D.,  late  Emeritus  Professor  of  Therapeutics, 

Dartmouth  Medical  College  

Charles  W.  Dulles,  M.  D.,  Lecturer  on  History  of  Medicine,  University 

of  Pennsylvania       .        •        • 

Alfonso  David  Rockwell,  M.  D 

Samuel  A.  Jones,  M.  D 

Rev.  Frederic  Rowland  Marvin,  M.  D 

.TamesH.Glass,M.D.,  Surgeon  of  Utica  City  Hospital      .        .        • 

Rev  Francis  H.  Rowley,  D.  D.,  Pastor  of  First  Baptist  Church        . 
Rev.  Leverett  W  Spring,  D.  D.,  Professor  of  English  Literature  i^  .^^^ 

Williams  College 


Chicago,  III. 
Boston,  Ma^s. 

Pasadena,  Cal. 

Philadelphia 

New  Yark  City 

Ann  Arbor,  Mich. 

Albany,  N  Y. 

Utica,  3     )  . 

Boston,  Mass. 


{ 


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flF 


I 


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§ 


A- 


/ 


PREFACE. 


'( 


In  the  following  pages  are  given  a  few  illustrations  of  the  great  vice  of 
modern  science,  known  as  Human  Vivisection.  Much  that  could  be  brought 
forward  is  not  included ;  for  some  of  the  worst  cases  of  American  experimenta- 
tion are  too  loathsome  for  publication  except  for  special  circulation.  Enough 
is  given  in  these  pages  to  afford  any  reader  the  means  for  judging  the  morality 
of  this  practice. 

One  distinction  must  be  carefully  noted. 

The  phrase  Human  Vivisection  must  not  be  taken  as  having  any  reference 
to  the  experimental  use  by  physicians  of  new  methods  or  new  remedies,  with  a 
view  to  the  benefit  of  the  patient.  To  such  tests  there  can  be  no  objection.  But 
Human  Vivisection  is  something  entirely  different.  It  may  be  defined  as  tnc 
practice  of  subjecting  human  beings,  men,  zvomen  and  children,  who  are  patients 
in  pJihUc  chanlable  institutions,  hospitals  or  asylums,  to  experiments  involving 
pain,  distress,  nintilatiun,  disease  or  danger  to  life,  for  no  object  connected  with 
their  iiutividual  benefit,  but  ji'r  scicniitic  purposes. 

'I'lic  aticiitioii  r>i  till'  i\:i>!<  I-  is  called  to  the  folujwing  points: 

J'ust.  The  instances  of  linnian  vivisection  here  presented  niav  be  f.uiiia  rt-- 
corded  :n  medical  books  or  journals  printed   in  the   l^ngll^h  lani^iiage.  to   which 

reference  is  made. 

Second.     No  experiment    is  quoieil   m    full;  con^iderallun-  of   ^pacc  forbid. 

Italics  are  ours. 

Of  what  use,  some  will  ask,  is  such  a  revelation  of  evil  deeds? 

It  is  necessary.  Before  anv  reform  cari  be  hoped  for,  there  must  be  such 
(.  xposm-e  as  shall,  sooner  or  ia.ter,  awaken  an  effective  pnl)lic  condemnation. 

Herein  are  delineated  oppression  of  the  weak,  cruelty  to  the  defenseless, 
injustice  to  the  poor,  violation  of  human  rights.     Are  these  of  no  account r 

For  reform,  what  is  necessary? 

/'/r.9/.  Investigation;  such  careful  inquiry  by  the  general  pul)lic  as  shall 
lead  to  recognition  of  the  reality  of  the  evil,  and  of  the  attitude  of  the  medical 

profession. 

Second.  Investigation  as  to  the  relation  existing  between  human  vivisec- 
tion, and  the  vivisection  of  animals  as  now  carried  on  iri  this  country. 

Third,  Such  absolute  condemnation  of  this  hideous  practice  by  the  leading 
medical  associations  of  the  United  States  as  shall  stamp  the  Innnan  vivisector 
with  ignominy  and  disrepute. 

Fourth.  Such  state  and  national  legislation  as  shall  make  the  human  vivi- 
section-experiments herein  delineated  a  crime  against  the  commonwealth. 

Are  these  unreasonable  demands? 

An  expression  of  the  opinion  of  everv  reader  of  this  pamphlet  is  requested. 

S.  R.  T. 


^ ' 


# 


i 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF   FiUMAN  VIVISECTION 


.      EXPERIMt:NTS   WITH    POISON. 

Tn  the  study  of  poisons  and  their  effects  under  different  circumstances,  a 
large  nuniher  of  experiments  upon  human  beings  have  been  made.  Doubtless,  in 
a  few  cases,   siul,   experiments  have  been  made  by  enthusiastic  scientist-     i;    )n 

flu  ni.-clvcs,  l»Lii  ihis  forii!  '>i  -eiierous  martyrdom  is  rare:  and  far  more  oft'ii  iiic 
'■m.-iiorial"  lias  con'^isted  of  the  poorer  cla>>  ui  patients  in  puijiic  nLsUiuti'-n-.  ^ 
The  Miprriorltx  of  luiiiKin  Itciii^':-  a-  'natorial  for  sciontific  invrvti^-ati<>n.^  f.f  this 
kind  is  undoubted,  and  ha-  long  l)ern  reC(  .-nizeT  A  dj^ini-nislKMl  rxr.ernnentcr 
n])(.n  the  l(*\\aT  animals,  1  )i\  ll-n-atio  C.  Wood  of  Philadelphia,  .»ner  -aid  very 
j^lainl^.  dial  "ih)  ex])erlnlenl^  uu  aniniai-  are  alj-*j]uie]y  satisfactory  niiirss  Ci>ii- 
Uv};icd  iihcii   .'//(//''  iiiinsrlf:"^     Eqnalh"    clear    in    the    recognition    of    the    rlefects 


of  animal-  a-  nialeriai  m  eertani   cxi'ermie 


In 


]-  the  statement  nia<k  h\  1  )r.  W. 
W.  Keen,  Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell  and  Dr.  (jco.  K.  Ah.i-eh()use  ni  duT"  re]M>ri  n]M,n  a 
pluLse  nf  the  -nhieei  \\hieh,  a.i  (Tie  imic,  occupied  llun-  aiu.rai(>n.       The_\    a->nre 

n^  plainh    that  (aTtam   facts — ''very  curious  facts/'  they  are  called "C'snld   eer- 

taiidv  not  ha\a;  In-rn  Uarncd   frr«ni  anv  ronr-e  of  experiments  iipnu  ui:iiihiis  Ificcr 
than   //.(///.'"     This  grouping  of  niani   waih   other   vivisectible  animals  max-   -h^  ick 


one  ai  tir-i.  hni  -eience.  as  a  rn, :e. 


I  i 


o  regard  for  sentimental  di-iinetions 


"Re^'ardniu-  the  mieiauriix    ui  expennleut^   w  itli  poisons  made   iip^n   animals. 


•rr.r.er  and   inarrnratc  conclusions  so  frequently  deducer]   durefr 


e>ni 


and   ilir   nn|>roi 

Di.   Krcn  ami  his  associates  are  outspoken.     For  example,  they  tell  us: 

"It  is  not  unfit  that  we  should  criticize  the  loose  way  m  which  therapeutic  iiifrrcuces 
have  been  drawn  from  experiments  upon  animals,  where  of  necessity  poisonous  doses  ii.ive 
been  .employed,  aiid  their  effects  studied.  .  .  .  Even  when  these  drugs  are  given  in 
poisonous  doses  to  animals,  it  does  not  follow  that  the  resultant  symptoms  will,  cither  in 
deerec  or  iii  kind,  correspond  accurately  to  those  zvhich  occur  under  like  circun.siances  in 


man- 


n  ;-nppi  >rt  e)f  this  coi 


i,d 


ein-mn,   i 


1)1 


Keen   ant 


1  lii-  associates  sT.m   wrv   strik- 


ing ilhmirations.  One  <d  ihc-m — Dr,  Wen'  }\liieliell-  proved  dial  t^  kill  a  snap- 
pinir-tnrtle  witli  a  certain  j^oi'^nn  it  rujnires  no  less  than  f.  mrlecn  tmie-  the  do>e 
lliai  will  kid  a  rabhii,  the  ddtercnce  ni  weigln  henig  lakei'  mn>  aecumn.  '"We 
oiu'selves' have  seen  a  d«  ^l:'  recover  after  the  suhentienlar  injeenon  oi  twenty- 
hve  *'rain-  «d  atre)T)ia" — a  d^-c  far  greater  than  is  snftieient  to  kdl  a  man.  t  on- 
cernincT  a  certain  e«»nelubmn  from  \'arioUb  experimenm.  Dr.  Keen  and  as-ociates 
makr  what  we  nnml  reci'ard  a-  a  verv  notcw'orth\-  criticism  when  the\-  ttdl  ns  that 
althougli     the     positive    e\-idence    in    favor   of    a    <;eriain    I'-nchi-i-n    lias    gamed 

largelv,  yet 

''it  has  heen  shown  repeatedly  that  the  negative  evidence  derived  from  experiments  on  aninials 

IS  not  to  he  inisUd,  although  to  it  Dr.  Brown-Scquard  has  given  the  sanction  of  Jus  ^rcat 
authority."'^ 

\     The  American  Journal  of  the  Medical   Sciences,  Philadelplda,  published   by   Henry 

C.  Lea,  Vol.  85   (X,  ?,.  -qV  Xo.  CXVTT  CXwv  Series),  p.  52 
-.     Same,  piibddicd  '  \    Idanchard  &  Lea,  New  Series,  Vol.  50,  Xo.  X(dX   .  Xew  Series), 

p.  ^>o.     . 
^     Same,  p.  70. 


( 


When  we  remember  that  Brown-Sequard  was  perhaps  the  most  ruthless  ex- 
periip.entc  r  iinon  animals  that  ever  lived,  a  scientist  w^hose  renown  as  a  vivisector 
belonged  to  two  continents,  this  impeachment  of  his  conclusions  based  upon  ani- 
mal cxi'crimcntation  is  certainly  significant. 

It  bv  no  iiican^  follows  that  these  writers  regard  animal  experimentation 
as  useless  in  tlie  stiidv  of  poisons.  It  has,  they  tell  us,  a  certain  value.  lUit  to 
appreciate  properly  a  poisonous  agent,  its  effects  mn=^t  be  studied  upon  a  wide 
range  of  created  things,  beginning  perhaps  in  vegetables  and  ending  in  human 
bcino-s.     But  let  us  state  this  conclusion   ni   their  own   vivid  and   vigorous  Ian- 

guage: 

•it  would  be  ca>y  to  extend  these  examples,  and  to  show,  not  tliat  wc  should  cease  to 
ii=;e  aniiy.als  for  the  studv  of  poisons,  but  tliat  in  order  to  appreciate  properly  any  toxic 
Ipoisonoiis]  agent,  we  nin>t  follow  it<  effects  through  a  wide  range  of  created  existence  from 
vegetable  to  man,  and  that  its  therapeutic  uses  are  to  be  learned  only  from  its  influence  upon 
tl:e  being  to  whom  finally  it  is  to  be  of  medicinal  value. "^ 

Do  we  read  this  aright?  To  study  properly  any  poison,  must  we  invariably 
''jollozv  its  effects  .  .  .  from  vegetable  to  mair ?  Up  to  man?  Science 
-miisf  do  this?  Let  us  see  whither  this  pectiliar  doctrine  appears  to  have  led 
certain  scientific  enthusiasts,  when  unrestrained  by  other  considerations. 

One  of  the  boldest  investigators  in  this  direction  was  Dr.  Sydney  Ringer 
of  England.  As  physician  to  the  University  College  Hospital  of  London,  he  en- 
ioved\musual  opportunities  for  testing  various  poisons  and  poisonous  substances 
upon  the  charitv  patients  who  had  confided  themselves  to  his  care.  To  his 
credit  it  must  be  said  that  he  made  no  secret  of  his  experimentation  ;  he  told  his 
medical  brethren  exactlv  what  he  was  doing;  many  of  his  experiments  upon  his 
simple-minded  patients  are  related  in  his  own  work  on  Therapeutics-published 
in  this  countrv  bv  William  Wood  &  Co.  of  New  York  City. 

Poisoning  with  Salicinc.  Of  his  investigations  with  this  substance,  Dr. 
Ringer  writes  at  considerable  length,  and  with  noteworthy  frankness : 

''"In  coni unction  with  Mr.  Burv,  I  have  made  some  investigations  concerning  the  action 
of  .alicine  on  the  human  body,  using  healthy  children  for  our  experiments,  to  whom  we 
gave  doses  sufficient  to  produce  toxic  [poisonous]  symptoms.  We  testea  the  effects  of 
salicine  in  three  sets  of  experiments,  on  three  healthy  lads.     To  the  two  first,  we  gave  large 

doses  and  produced  decided  symptoms.     ...  ,     ,      .       .  ...  ,u^ 

Under  toxic,  but  not  dangerous  doses,  the  headache  is  olten  very  severe,  so  that  the 
patient  buries  his  head  in  the  pillow.  There  may  be  very  marked  muscular  weakness  and 
tremor  There  are  often  slight  spasmodic  twitchmgs  when  a  limb  is  raised.     .     .     . 

The  respiration  is  hurried,  sometimes  deepened,  sometimes  sighing  and  shallow  and  almost 
npntin^  but  the  patient  does  not  complain  of  any  difficulty  of  breathing.     .     .     . 

Our  first  "^et  of  experiments  was  made  on  a  lad  aged  ten.  .  .  During  the  investiga- 
tion he  was  ke^pt  in  bed,  but  was  allowed  to  sit  up  in  it.  He  was  admitted  with  be  la- 
donna  poisoning,  but  our  observations  were  not  commenced  till  some  days  after  hts  eomplete 

recovery."* 

This  patient  was  therefore  experimented  on  after  his  complete  recovery, 
and  when  he  should  have  been  discharged  from  the  hospital  and  sent  home  as 
cured  Among  the  effects  recorded  during  this  experiment  are  "severe  frontal 
headache,  ...  so  severe  that  the  lad  shut  his  eyes  and  buried  his  head  in  his 

^     A  Sandboo°k  of  Therapeutics,  by  Sydney  Ringer,  il-  D-.  3th  Ed.    New  York.    Pub- 
lished  by  William  Wood  &  Co.     Pp.  584,  5o5,  5od,  5»«- 

6  ' 


^rni" — "became  very  dull  and  stupid,  lying  with  his  eyes  closed" — ''complained 
of  tingling  like  pins  and  needles" — and  other  symptoms  indicating  severe  depres- 
sion.** 

"The  next  series  of  observations  were  made  on  a  lad  aged  nine,  convalescent 
from  pneumonia,  his  temperature  having  become  normal  ten  days  previou-h . 
We  experimented  somewhat  differently.     The  boy  was  kept  in  bed."* 

Tn  this  case,  the  svmptoms  produced  by  the  poison  were  such  as  to  c:iusc 
•considerable  alarm,  especially  as  they  did  not  seem  to  abate  \vitli  ilu  discon- 
tinuance of  the  poison.     Dr.  Ringer  states: 

"We  noticed  that  hi-  face  wa^  tlushed  and  he  looked  dull,  and  that  there  was  some 
.Ircuiur  v.hen  hi.-,  hand  was  held  out.  In  the  evening  the  tremors  were  rhore  marked.  At 
five  a.  HI  the  following  day  he  twice  \  umited.  On  lliis  day  .  .  .  his  symptoms  were  \  crv 
marked;  .  .  .  slight  tremor  of  tlie  lips  on  speaking,  and  thick  husky  voice;  breatliing 
ra.tlK'r  labored;  .  .  .  >iight  spasmodic  movements  of  the  upper  limb-:  .  .  .  gra.-])inLr 
power  weaker,  .  .  .  These  symptom.-  were  at  their  height  at  midday,  and  were  =0  marked, 
and  tlie  pulse  and  respirations  so  quick,  thai  we  must  confess  we  felt  a  little  reiiei  when  the 
toxic  [poisonous]  symptoms,  which  became  far  more  marked  tliaii  we  expected,  a'Dated  ;  not 
that  at  any  time  the  boy  v/as  dangerously  ill  [!].  but.  as  the  symptom:^  progressed,  after 
discontinuing  the  medicine,  Ter  did  vo!  Irnoi^.'  ho:c  long,  and  to  lohat  degree,  t/iov  inighi  in- 
crease. 


":, 


What  a   confession!     Suppose   this   lad   had   died?     To   what   responsibility 
would  the  law  have  held  Dr.  Ringer?     To  none? 

Poisoning  zvith  Gclsemium.  "Gelsemium  is  a  powerful  paralvzer  and  res- 
piratory poison  ...  In  order  to  test  the  eft'ects  of  gelsemium  on  man,  I 
^avc  it  to  six  persons  on  seventeen  occasions,  in  doses  sufficient  to  produce 
dcciacd  toxic  [poisonous]  effects."  "To  test  the  effect  of  gelsenimni  on  the 
circulation  I  made  thirty-three  series  of  observations  on  patients  m  whom  we 
induced  the  full  toxic  effects."  To  a.  little  ""irl,  aiz'ccl  nine.  wh.  1  ^va^  suft'erino- 
from  chorea,  Dr.  Ringer,  to  test  the  eff'ect  on  temperature,  "gave  for  five  hours 
.an  h.ouriy  dose"  and  "produced  well-marked  constitutional  effects."  Among  the 
symptoms  which  Dr.  Ringer  produced  by  this  poison  upon  patient^  who  doubtless 
supposed  that  they  were  receiving  some  remedy  for  tlieir  ailments,  were 
pain,  giddiness,  dimness  of  sight,  weakness  in  the  legs  and  dou1)le  vision.  One 
patient  described  his  pain  "as  if  the  crown  of  the  head  was  being  lifted  off  in 
two  pieces";  "the  headache  and  pain  in  the  eyeballs  were  often  severe  and  were 
intensified  on  moving  the  eyes."  "One  patient,  on  both  occasions  on  vvhich  I  ex- 
perimented on  him,  complained  spontaneously  of  a  numb  pain."' 

Poisoning  zvith  Muscarin.  This  substance  is  "the  active  principle  of  poison- 
ous fungi."  It  "affects  especially  the  heart  and  intestinal  canal,"  producing 
among  other  symptoms,  "  'want  of  breath,  giddiness,  fainting,  prostration, 
and  stupor.'  "  In  order  "to  ascertain  whether  the  action  of  muscarin  on  man 
is  the  same  as  on  animals,"  Dr.  Ringer  and  his  associate  "made  thirteen  experi- 
ments on  four  men.  .  .  .  These  men,  it  is  well  to  state,  were  not  in  good 
health;  three  zvere  in  a  delicate  anaemic  state,  the  other  had  sliglit  fever  from 
some  obscure  cause.  .  .  ."  He  satisfied  himself  that  the  eft'ects  were  the 
same  as  when  animals  were  used,  and  that  ''in  onr  experiments  on  man.,  muscarin 


Same,  p.  589. 
Same,  p.  591. 
Same,  pp.  497-504. 


\ 


> 


i 


When  \\c  rcnienilxT  that  Brown-Sequard  was  perhaps  the  most  ruthless  ex- 
perimenter upon  animals  that  ever  lived,  a  scientist  whose  renown  as  a  vivisector 
belonged  to  two  continents,  this  impeachment  of  his  conclusions  based  upon  ani- 
mal experinientation  is  certainly  signilicant. 

It  by  no  means  follows  that  these  writers  regard  animal  experimentation 
as  useless  in  the  study  of  poisons.  It  has,  they  tell  us,  a  certain  value.  But  to 
appreciate  properly  a  poisonous  agent,  its  effects  must  be  studied  upon  a  wide 
ran^^e  of  created  thincrs,  bec:inning  perhaDs  in  vegetables  and  ending  in  human 
beings.  But  let  us  state  this  conclusion  in  their  own  vivid  and  vigorous  lan- 
guage: 

"It  would  be  easy  to  extend  these  examples,  and  to  show,  not  that  we  should  cease  to 
use  animals  for  the  study  of  poisons,  but  that  in  order  to  -^opreciate  properly  any  toxic 
Ipoisonous]  agent,  we  must  follow  its  effects  through  a  wide  range  of  created  existence  from 
vegetable  to  man,  and  that  its  therapeutic  uses  are  to  be  learned  only  from  its  influence  upon 
the  being  to  whom  finally  it  is  to  be  of  medicinal  value."" 

Do  we  read  this  aright?  To  study  properly  any  poison,  must  we  invariably 
'Jollozu  its  effects  .  .  .  from  z'e<4etable  to  mair ?  Up  to  man?  Science 
''musf  do  this?  Let  us  see  whither  this  peculiar  doctrine  appears  to  have  led 
certain  scientific  enthusiasts,  when  unrestrained  by  other  considerations. 

One  of  the  boldest  investigators  in  this  direction  was  Dr.  Sydney  Ringer 
of  England.  As  physician  to  the  University  College  Hospital  of  London,  he  en- 
ioyed  unusual  opportunities  for  testing  various  poisons  and  poisonous  substances 
upon  the  charitv  patients  who  had  confided  themselves  to  his  care.  To  his 
credit  it  must  be  said  that  he  made  no  secret  of  his  experimentation  ;  he  told  his 
medical  brethren  exactlv  what  he  was  doing;  many  of  liis  experiments  upon  his 
simple-minded  patients  are  related  in  his  own  work  on  Therapeutics— published 
in  this  countrv  bv  William  Wood  &  Co.  of  New  York  City. 

Poisoning  u^ith  Salicine,  Of  his  investigations  with  this  substance,  Dr. 
Ringer  writes  at  considerable  length,  and  with  noteworthy  frankness : 

^'■In  conjunction  with  Mr.  Burv,  I  have  made  some  investigations  concerning  the  action 
of  salicine  on  the  human  body,  using  healthy  children  for  our  experiments,  to  whom  we 
eave  doses  sufficient  to  produce  toxic  [poisonousl  symptoms.  We  tested  the  effects  of 
salicine  in  three  sets  of  experiments,  on  three  healthy  lads.    To  the  two  first,  we  gave  large 

doses  and  produced  decided  symptoms.     ...  ,     ,      .       ,  ,u,,  ,u. 

Under  toxic,  but  not  dangerous  doses,  the  headache  is  often  very  severe,  so  that  the 
natlent  buries  his  head  in  the  pillow.  There  may  be  very  marked  muscular  weakness  and 
tremor  There  are  often  slight  spasmodic  twitchings  when  a  limb  is  raised.     .     .     . 

The  respiration  is  hurried,  sometimes  deepened,  sometimes  sighing  and  shallow  and  almost 
n;intin^  but  the  patient  does  not  complain  of  any  difficulty  of  breathing.     .     .     . 

Our  first  <et  of  experiments  was  made  on  a  lad  aged  ten,  .  .  During  the  investiga- 
tion he  was  ke"pt  in  bed,  but  was  allowed  to  sit  up  in  it.  He  was  admitted  with  be  la- 
donna  poisoning,  but  our  observations  were  not  commenced  ////  some  days  after  his  eomplete 

recovery.'" 

This  patient  was  therefore  experimented  on  after  his  complete  recovery, 
and  when  he  should  have  been  discharged  from  the  hospital  and  sent  home  as 
cured  ^mong  the  effects  recorded  during  this  experiment  are  "severe  frontal 
headache,  ...  so  severe  that  the  lad  shut  his  eyes  and  buried  his  head  m  his 

'-     A  Handboo°k  of  Therapeutics,  by  Sydney  Ringer,  M^  D.,  3th  Ed.    New  York,    Pub- 
lished  by  William  Wood  &  Co.     Pp.  584,  5«5,  5oo,  5««- 

6 


1 


arm" — "became  very  dull  and  stupid,  lying  with  his  eyes  closed" — "complained 
of  tingling  like  pins  and  needles" — and  other  symptoms  indicating  severe  dc|)res- 


sion. 


4 


"The  next  series  of  observations  were  made  on  a  lad  aged  nine,  convalescent 
from  pneumonia,  his  temperature  having  become  normal  ten  days  previously. 
A\'e  experimented  somewhat  differently.     The  boy  was  kept  in  bc-d."* 

In  this  case,  the  symptoms  produced  by  the  poison  were  such  as  to  cause 
■considerable  alarm,  especially  as  they  did  not  seem  to  abate  with  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  poison.     Dr.  Ringer  states : 

''We  noticed  that  his  face  was  flushed  and  he  looked  dull,  and  that  there  was  some 
tremor  when  his  hand  was  held  out.  In  tlie  evening  the  tremors  were  more  marked.  At 
five  a.  m.  the  following  day  he  twice  MHiiitcd.  (  )n  il-.i-^  (ia_\-  .  .  .  hi-  -yni])t()ni>  were  \erv 
marked;  .  .  .  slight  tremor  of  the  lips  ,,11  .-peaking,  and  thick  hn-ky  \uice;  hreaihing 
rather  labored;  .  .  .  slight  spasmodic  nin\enHin>  nf  tlie  upper  linih-;  .  .  .  gra>i)ing 
power  weaker.  .  .  .  These  symptoms  were  at  their  height  at  midday,  and  were  so  marked, 
and  the  pulse  and  respirations  so  quick,  that  we  must  confess  we  felt  a  little  relief  when  the 
toxic  [poisonous]  symptoms,  which  became  far  more  marked  than  we  expected,  abated  ;  not 
that  at  any  time  the  boy  was  dangerously  ill  [!],  but,  as  the  symptom-  progressed,  after 
discontinuing  the  medicine,  Tit  did  no!  kii():c  h(-:o  iinit!.  and  tc  lohut  (/t\-r.\-.  flicv  inii^/ii  in- 


crease. 


}'5 


What  a  confession!     Suppose  this   lad   had   died?     To   what   responsibility 
would  the  law  have  held  Dr.  Ringer?     To  none? 

Poisoning  zvith  Gclsemium.  "Gelsemium  is  a  powerful  paralvzcr  and  res- 
piratory poison  ...  In  order  to  test  the  eft'ects  of  gelsemium  on  man,  I 
gave  it  to  six  persons  on  seventeen  occasions,  in  doses  stit^icicnt  to  produce 
decided  toxic  [poisonous]  effects."  "To  test  the  effect  of  gelsemium  on  the 
circulation  I  made  thirty-three  series  of  observations  on  patients  in  whom  we 
induced  the  full  toxic  effects."  To  a  little  girl,  aged  nine,  whu  was  suffering 
from  chorea,  Dr.  Ringer,  to  test  the  effect  on  temperature,  "gave  for  five  iiours 
an  h.ouriy  dose"  and  "produced  well-marked  constitutional  eft'ects."  Among  the 
symptoms  which  Dr.  Ringer  produced  by  this  poison  upon  patient-  who  doubtless 
supposed  that  they  w^ere  receiving  some  remedy  for  their  ailments,  were 
pain,  giddiness,  dimness  of  sight,  weakness  in  the  legs  and  double  vision.  One 
patient  described  his  pain  "as  if  the  crown  of  the  head  was  being  lifted  off*  in 
two  pieces";  "the  headache  and  pain  in  the  eyeballs  were  often  severe  and  were 
intensified  on  moving  the  eyes."  "One  patient,  on  both  occasions  on  which  I  ex- 
perimented  on  him,  complained  spontaneously  of  a  numb  pain."'' 

Poisoning  with  Miiscarin.  This  substance  is  "the  active  principle  of  poison- 
ous fungi."  It  "affects  especially  the  heart  and  intestinal  canal,"  producing 
among  other  symptoms,  "  'want  of  breath,  giddiness,  fainting,  prostration, 
and  stupor.'  "  In  order  "to  ascertain  whether  the  action  of  muscarin  on  man 
is  the  same  as  on  animals,"  Dr.  Ringer  and  his  associate  "made  thirteen  experi- 
ments on  four  men.  .  .  .  These  men,  it  is  w'ell  to  state,  w^ere  not  in  eood 
health ;  three  were  in  a  delicate  anaemic  state,  the  other  had  slight  fever  from 
some  obscure  cause.  .  .  ."  He  satisfied  himself  that  the  eff'ccts  were  the 
same  as  when  animals  were  used,  and  that  "/;z  our  experiments  on  man,  muscarin 


Same,  p.  589. 
Same,  p.  591. 
Same,  pp.  497-504- 


\ 


\ 


DnulnctMJ  wTv  little  effect  <  >u  tlie  Piilse.  ..."  In  nine  oilier  cases  he  applied 
the  poison  t(  •  the  ^\e.  enii-ino;  a  wide  dilation  of  the  [)npil  which  continued  "about 
twcnt\'-i(  >in-  liuiH's  or  a  little  Lnii^-er.    ' 

.1  rare  poisovt.  Dr.  Rino-er's  scientific  enthusiasm  was  so  o-reat  that  he 
could  not  forbear  niakinii;  experiments  upon  hospital  patients  with  a  poison  for 
wldch  there  a|)])"ars  to  he  //''  rccojnir.Cii  uicdicdl  use,  and  so  rare  that  he  was 
oblisj'ed  to  ha.ve   it  >])eciall\    rnaraifactured   te)r   the  occasion.      He   says: 

•'Our  cxpennKMit--  le<l  u-  In  ecncliidc  ir.:it  i'thyl-atropiiiin  paraly/scs  the  motor  nerves 
and  the  spinal  cord,  but  leaves  the  sensory  ncrvc^  unaffected.  .../;/  our  c.vtcriincnls  oil 
man  thi-  drug,  given  in  doses  sutficient  to  produce  marked  symptoms,  neither  strengthened 
nor  quickened  the  heart.  ...  In  man.  a  dose  of  one  grain  .  .  .  produces  decided  but 
transient  paralysis,  the  patient  beiiii^  unable  to  stand  or  walk,  and  the  head  dropping  rather 
tozeards  the  shoulder  or  eJiest,  and  the  upper  eyelids  dn'oping:"^ 

Dr.  Ringer  suggests  no  medical  emploxinent  for  this  poison,  and  his  experi- 
ments u])()n  httman  beings  were  ap])arently  for  the  gratification  of  his  curiosity. 
Does  the  reader  regard  such  experiments  upon  hospital  patienLs  as  justifiabk' .-^ 

PoisoJiing  zdth  Nitrate  of  Sodium.    •"To  eighteen  adults— fourteen  men  and  four  women 

we  ordered  ten  grains  (»f  pure  nitrate  oi  >odirim  i'l  an  uunce  of  water,  and  of  these,  se\-en- 

teen  declared  they  were  unable  t<.  take  it.  .  .  .  (Mie  man,  a  l)uriy.  strong  fellow,  suffering 
froin  a  little  rheumatism  only,  said  that  after  taking  tlie  first  dose  he  'felt  giddy,'  as  if  he 
'would  go  off  insensible.'  His  lips,  face,  and  hand<  turned  blue,  and  he  had  to  lie  down  an 
hour  and  a  half  before  he  dared  mr.ve.  His  heart  tluttered,  and  he  suffered  from  throbbing 
pains  in  the  head.  He  was  urged  to  try  another  de)se.  but  declined  on  the  ground  that  he  had 
a  leife  and  family.     .     .     .     Tlic  women  appear  to  luive  differed  more  than  the  men.     .     .     •'"' 

Wdien  a  report  of  these  exoerimeiits  with  |)oison  upon  hospital  patients  was 
first  printeil  m  the  London  L.\Noi:r,  at  least  one  medical  journal  regarded  their 
publication  as  a  very  unwise  proceeding,  because  of  its  being  sure  to  cause  injury 
to  aninnal  vivisection.  The  editorial  columns  of  the  Medical  Times  and  Ga- 
zette (London)  of  Xov.  lo.  1883  (  \'ol.  2,  pp.  548-550),  contain  these  comments 
upon  the  human  vivisections  just  described: 

"In  pubb-hing,  and  indeed  in  in-titntin.g.  their  reckless  experiments  on  the  effect  of 
nitrite  of  sodium  on  the  human  subject,  Prof.  Ringer  and  Dr.  Murrell  have  made  a 
deplorably  false  move,  which  the  ever  watchful  opponents  of  vivisection  will  not  be  slow  to 
profit  by.'  They  cannot  allege  that  they  were  driven  to  the  experiments  by  the  Vivisection 
Act,  for  they  preface  their  account  of  their  cHnical  observations  by  a  description  of  pathologi- 
cal 'observations  on  two  cats,  who  rapidly  succumbed  to  the  drug.  Nor  have  they  the 
excuse  that  the  eft'ects  of  nitrite  of  soditim  on  the  human  subject  were  unknown,  for  Dr. 
Ramskill  and  Dr.  Ralfe  have  placed  on  record  ,-^ix  cases  in  which  its  administration  was 
attended  by  the  most  serious  consequences— livid ity  and  semi-collapse.  It  is  impossible  to 
read  the  paper  in  last  week's  L.\xeET  withottt  distress.  Of  the  eighteen  adults  to  whom  Drs. 
Ringer  and  ALirreil  administered  the  drug  in  ten-gram  doses,  all  but  one  avowed  they  would 
expect  to  drop  down  dead  if  they  ever  took  another  dose.  One  woman  fell  to  the  ground,  and 
lay  with  throbbing  head  and  nati-ea  for  three  hours;  another  said  it  turned  her  lips  quite 
black  and  upset  her  so  that  she  wa^  afraid  ^hc  would  never  get  over  it.  The  next  series  of 
experiments  was  with  nve-grain  doses.  The  same  restdts  followed  in  ten  out  of  sixteen 
cases.  One  girl  vomited  for  two  hours,  and  thought  she  was  dying.  Even  in  three-grain 
doses  the  drug  caused  unpleasant  symptom- in  four  ou.t  of  the  thirteen  patients  to  whom  it  was 
administered.     All  these  observations  are  recorded  with  an  innocent  naivete,  as  though  the 


A 


Same,  pp.  489-494- 

Same.  p.  534- 

The  Lancet,  London,  Nov.  3,  1883,  p.  767. 

8 


idea  that  any  one  could  possibly  take  exception  to  them  v^ere  far  from  the  writers'  minds. 
But  whatever  credit  m.ay  be  given  to  Drs.  Ringer  and  Murrell  for  scientific  enthusiasm,  :t  is 
impossible  to  acquit  them  of  grave  indiscretion.    There  will  be  a  howl  throughout  the  country     y 
if  it  comes  out  that  officers  of  a  public  charity  are  m  the  habit  of  trying  such  useless  and   ^ 
cruel  experiments  on  the  patients  committed  to  their  care,  and  the  whole  profession  well  be 
placed  in  a  false  position." 

One  can  hardly  re.^ard  this  protest  as  a  very  noble  one.  To  speak  of  ptibhc 
indignation  as  "a  //(9:e/  i}irou:;hoitt  llic  country"  is  perhaps  -i-niticant  nf  the  e<li- 
tor's  contempt  for  the  non-scientihc  mind.  l>at  miiiht  not  Dr.  Rin.o-er  declare 
that  if  he  had  erred,  it  had  been  with  the  supporting  intiuence  of  Dr.  Keen,  Dr. 
^.litchell  and  Dr.  Morehouse,  the  three  distinguished  Americans  who.  long  before, 
had  laid  down  the  rule  that  in  the  study  of  poisons,  -in  order  to  ;t]ipreciate  prop- 
erly aii\-  toxic  agent,  we  must  follow  its  effects  throtigh  a  wide  range  of  created 
existence  frnm  I'cij^ctablc  to  uiaiif' f 

Experiments  zi'ith  .Intimony  or  Tartar  Emetie.  'Tn  poisoning  by  this  substance  .  .^  . 
the  patient  is  attacked  with  pain  in  the  stomach,  followed  by  incessant  retching,  prcx-cordial 
cramps  and  burning  heal  .  .  .  severe  colic.  .  .  .  The  mu^cle^  a:;e  sometime-;  rigid, 
but  gcnerallv  relaxed;  the  skin  pale,  cool  and  clammy;  the  pulse  feeble.  ,  .  .  1  he  dose 
requH-ed  to  produce  .uch  >ymptoms  cannot  be  precisely  stated.  //  may  be  hut  the  iraetion 
of  a  grain  zvhich  occasions  them,  and  that  zeith  a  fatal  result."^^ 

•'We  have  thus  shown."  says  Dr.  Ringer.  'That  tartar-emetic  ])aralvzes  the 
central  nervous  svstem,  the  moK^r  nerves,  the  muscles,  and  destroys  sensation, 
and  therefore  we  are  led  to  infer  that  probably  tartar-emetic  is  a  protoplasmic 
poison,  destroying  function  in  all  nitrogenous  tissue.'"" 

AlthouHi  onlv  a  " fraction  of  a  '^raiiT  mav  prove  fatal,  yet,  t-  determme  the 
effect  of  the  poison  <^n  temperature.  Dr.  Ringer  made  this  exi)erinieni : 

"To  a  strong  y>ni;!g  rn,iii  I  gave  tartar-emetic  in  half-gram  doses  every  ten  '"j''|^'/t'-^  for 
nearly  seven  hours,  inducing  great  n;m^ea  and  vomiting,  witli  profuse  perspiration.  '" 

bn  this  "strong  \  oung  man"  wa-  -iven  a  ])oisonous  sul-tance  to  the  amount 
of  nearly  f:ocnfy-ouc  -ra///.s\  although  a  fatal  re^ult  ma\  be  i)rMoueed  b\  'The 
fraction  of  a  grain"  I  Su|)])ose  he  had  died  as  th.e  result  of  this  exj)erimerd,  and 
the   exnerimenter  had   been   indicted   be   the   grar.d   iur>.   wonld    me   uncertanUy 

1 

of  the  action  of  the  ])oison  have  been  an  available  defense.^ 

Its  eff'ect  upon  the  |)ulse  is  significant.  A  medical  author  tells  us: 
"The  more  depressing  the  operation  of  the  medicine  .  .  .  the  mere  freciuent  and 
feeble  does  the  pulse  l)ecome.  In  the  ease  of  a  boy  zehose  brain  memi^ranes  :.ere  exposed. 
Dr.  ^Lary  Putnam  Jacobi  observed  that  in  two  and  a  half  hours  after  the  administration  of 
a  quarter  of  a  grain  of  tartar  emetic,  which  diil  not  occasion  vomiting,  the  intracranial 
blood-pressure  was  diminished  and  the  walls  of  the  arteries  relaxed.  Thi<  peculiarity  was 
not  noticed  under  the  action  of  sedative  doses  of  quinine,  and  was  produced  only  by  nauseat- 
ing doses  of  tartar  emetic. "^^ 

Poisoiiiiig   7i'ith   AlcoJio!..  .This   substance,    in   various    forms,    is    so    widely 
used,   that  for  purposes  of  experimentation   it  is  generally  necessary   to  admin-     ^ 
ister  it  either  to  children  or  to  persons  wholly   unaccustomed   to   its   use.     Dr.  ( 
Ringer  says : 


10 


13 


The   National   Dispensatory,  by  Stille,  ^kiiseh  &  Caspari.  5tli   I-:d..  p.  219:    <piil>-  hy 

Lea  Bros.  &  Co.,  Phila.  &  N.  Y.) 
Handbook  of  Therapeutics,  Ringer    (above  cited),  p.   272. 
Same.  p.  273. 
The  National  Dispensatory   (above  cited),  p.  219. 

I  9 


.J 


■'A>  the  rt.>ult  nf  a  great  iiiaiix  ob,-er\[tii(Dns  taken  in  conjunction  with  Dr.  Rickards^ 
e\ery  ([iiartcT  of  an  hnuir  for  several  hours,  on  pcrsotis  of  ail  ages,  we  found  that  alcohol^ 
brandy,  and  wiriC  dinrini.-h  the  body  temperature.  After  moderate  doses  the  fall  was  slight, 
.  .  .  but  after  paisoious  doses  the  depression  in  one  instance  reached  nearly  three 
degree-;.""  ' 

What  a  confession  this  is!  l^.ven  upon  children  wholly  unaccustomed  ta 
alcohol  in  any  form,  as  well  as  upon  confirmed  inebriates,  Dr.  Ringer  carried  on 
his  experiments : 

'"In  a  boy  aged  ten,  zelio  had  never  in  liis  life  before  taken  alcohol  in  any  form,  I  found 
through  a  large  number  of  observations  a  constant  and  decided  reduction  of  temperature. 
.  .  .  Dr.  Rickards  and  I  gave  to  an  habitual  drunkard,  making  him  'dead  drunk,'  twelve 
ounces  of  good  brandy  in  a  single  dose."'^ 

This  experiment  was  not  without  danger  to  life.  When  a  large  quantity 
of  strong  alcoholic  drink  is  taken  at  a  draught, 

*'death  from  this  rapid  saturation  of  the  system  with  alcohol  is  by  no  means  rare.  Orfila 
[the  great  authority  on  poisons]  mentions  an  instance  in  which  a  man  died  immediately  from' 
the  effects  of  a  large  dose  of  brandy.  .  .  .  Rosch  also  relates  the  cases  of  two  children- 
in  which  (|n:te  a  small  qr.antity  [(~»f  gin]   proved  fatal."^'" 

If  an}-  of  Dr.  Ringer's  patients  had  died  and  he  had  been  indicted,  his  own 
testimony  as  an  expert  would  have  been  fatal  to  him  on  his  trial. 

The  PJii/iuIclphia  Medical  Jourjial,  not  long  since,  reported  ''some  work"" 
done  upon  human  beings  by  a  German  experimenter.  In  one  case  we  are  in- 
formed that  the  ' 

''quantity  of  alceilK)!  wa->  >ufhcicnt  (  v.ith  this  subject,  zeho  zcas  entirely  unaeeustonied  to  the 
use  of  alcohol)  to  produce  a  more  or  less  constant  condition  of  mild  intoxication  during, 
the  tir-t  few  days."" 

Oi  annth.er  subject,  the  vivisector  states  that  ''after  the  second  dose  signs  of 
acute-  alcoholism  and  a  condition  approaching  collapse  appeared."  It  seems  evi- 
dtm  that  in  this  ca>e  the  ex])eriirient  was  carried  to  a  point  where  human  life 
was  in  danger. 

Foisonim:;  \oitii  Di;j! talis.'  The  Xew  ^'ork  ^ledical  Record  reports  a  \'ienna 
scientist  who  exDerimented  upon  human  beings  and  animals  by  immersing  them 
in  variotis  poisonous  solutions.  "A  boy  of  fifteen  years  remained  six  hours  in  a 
sitz-bath  (65°C.)  of  infusion  of  half  a  pound  of  digitalis  in  four  buckets  of 
water.  .  .  .  Pidse  fell  fmni  84  to  60,  gastric  and  cerebral  symptoms  occiuTed 
and  lasted  two  da>s."^^ 

Poi^oi'iii^  z^itli  Conia.  This  is  the  alkaloid  principle  of  coniuiu  or  hemlock,. 
the  poison  taken  l)v  Socrates,  its  most  illustrious  victim.  "No  poison,  except 
prussic  acid,  excels  conia  /;/  tJie  subtlety  and  rapidity  of  its  operation."^^ 
The  action  of  this  poison  has  been  more  completely  illustrated  "by  Schrofif, 
whose  experiments  were  performed  upon  three  healthy  male  adults."  Among 
symptoms  produced,  were : 

•'intense   burning   in   the   mouth;     .     .     .     the   tongue   was   benumbed   and   paralyzed     .     ■     . 
giddiness;     .     .     .     great     impairment      of      general     sensibility,    and     a     sort     of     discom- 

Ringer's  Therapeutics   (above  cited),  p.  340. 

Same,  p.  341. 
Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica,  by  Alfred  Stille,  M.  D.,  4th  ed'n.     Phdadelphia. 

Henry  C.  Lea,  publisher.    Vol.  i,  p.  73i. 

The   Phil.  Medical  Journal,  Vol.  VTII,  Nov.  23,  1901,  p.  SaS. 

The  Medical  Record,  New  York.    Vol.  VII,  p.  252. 

Stille's   Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica    (above  cited).     Vol.  11,  p.  334. 

10 


14 

HI 
IT 
19 


I 


fort  which  lasted  during  the  following  day.  The  sight  was  confused,  the  pupils  dilated,  and 
surrounding  objects  seemed  to  swim;  the  hearing  was  dull:  .  .  .  tlie  arni^  were  moved 
with  difficulty,  and  the  gait  was  staggering.  .  .  .  The  tips  uf  ib.e  fingers  and  the  hands 
were   moist,  cold,  and  bluish,  the  countenance  sunken  and  pale.'""'' 

J'oisouino;  leith  East  Indian  Ileiiip.  Dr.  Lawrie.  jdiNsician  m  the  Lock 
Hospital  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  experimented  with  the  ])()!^(in  of  cannabis 
indica—or  East  Indian  hemp—upon  some  twenty-six  unfortunate  patients  con- 
fided to  his  professional  care.  Some  of  the  symptoius  thus  produced  were  as 
follows : 

"In  many  [cases],  nausea  and  vomiting  were  produced:  in  several  thcie  were  convulsive 
paroxysms;  frequently  the  thirst  was  distressing;  the  pulse  was  rendered  frequent,  weak, 
and  intermittent;  .  .  .  the  effects  of  the  drug  were  so  far  from  agreeable  that  'the  ma- 
jority of  those  who  took  it  once  only  did  so  a  second  time  on  compulsion.^" 

Dr,  Stille  refers  to  "the  wretched  and  generally  ignorant  creatures  ivho 
formed  the  ^v.hjects  of  Dr.  Lazerie's  experiments."- 

These  experiments  were  made  in  Europe ;  but  Dr.  Stille  quotes  them  in  an 
American  work  without  expression  of  disapprobation. 

A  distressing  feature  of  many  of  these  experiments  is  the  fact  that  the  luen 
and  women  upon  whom  they  are  performed  were  not  only  ignorant,  but 
under  constraint.  In  this  horrible  case^certain  patients  in  the  hospital  were  not 
merely  poisoned  once,  but  were  obliged,  '\in  compulsion,"  to  undergo  the  con- 
vulsive paroxysms  and  all  the  other  agonizing  symptoms  a  second  time. 

"E.rperimenting  upon  Man"  Dr.  H.  C.  Wood,  Jr.,  distinguished  by  his 
vivisections  of  animals,  thus  refers  to  human  vivisection  in  connection  v/ith  ni- 
trite of  amvl : 

r' 

"Fortunately  there  have  not  been  as  yet  any  cases  of  liumnn  poisoning  by  tiie  drug,  ^.nd 
no  one  in  esperimcnling  upon  rnan^,  that  I  know  of.  has  as  yet  carried  the  etfcct  far  enough 
to   produce   serious   spinal   symptoms.     .     .     .     Sonu;   who   have   administered   the   remedy   to 
man  zeith  a  Utile  too  great  boldness,  have  been  sorely  frightened.     .     .     ."-" 

"Pushed  even  to  a  fatal  dose."  Is  the  circulation  in  the  eye  affected  by 
various  poisons  when  pushed  to  a  fatal  dosef  Dr.  Sydney  Ringer  tells  us  as 
follows: 

'T)r.   J.   IT   Arbuckle    {West  Riding  Lunatic  Asylum   Reports.   Vol.   V)    finds   that  the 


following    substances— Xicotia,    Atropia, 


Aconitia,    Hydrate    of    Chloral    Nitrate    of 


Amyl,  Prussic  Acid,  Strychnia  .  .  .  -pushed  even  to  a  fatal  dose,  do  not  in  any  degree 
affect' the  circulation  at  the  fundus  of  the  eye.  His  observations  were  made  on  rabbits,  and 
the  results  they  obtained  were,  with  respect  to  some  of  these  agents,  contirmed  by  experi- 
ments on  man."''" 

We  do  not  know  what  this  language  means  unless  it  be  that  tlicse  poisons 
"pushed  even  to  a  fatal  dose''  produced  phenomena  that  were  "confinned  by  ex- 
periments" upon  human  beings.  It  is  certain  that  human  vivisectors  have  given 
certain  ])oisons  up  to  a  point  just  short  of  collapse.  Dr.  Stille  refers  to  numerous 
experiments  with  antimony ;  some  by  Mayerhoft'er,  "who  seems  to  have  conducted 


".     Stille's  Therapeutics  and  Materia  Medica   (above  cited),  Vol.  IT,  p.  339- 
'.     Same,  Vol.  I,  p.  962. 

The  American  Journal  of  tlie  ^Medical  Sciences   (before  cited)     V^l.  S8   (X.   S..  62), 
No.  CXXIV  (Xew  Series),  pp.  359  ^nd  360. 
.     Ringer's  Therapeutics    (above  cited),  p.   368. 

11 


; 


his  experiments  carefully."-— producing  -Icurmg,  catltii^^^,  and  ^ripui;^  pains,"  etc.; 
some  by  Ackermann.  wIk.sc  "ohservatir)!!.^  :.-crc  nnhlr  mi  hcalfliy  persons"  and  who 
noticed  that  ""the  rate  of  the  pulse  increases  z.-itli  tJic  development  of  the  pJicnom- 
ena  of  eoUapse"-^ 

''On  Human  Beings  Before  Your  Byes."  It  sometimes  happens  that  scien- 
tific statements  conci-rninir  the  effects  of  a  poisonous  drug  may  be  illustrated 
vivKlly  bv  experiments  made  before  the  eyes  of  the  student.  In  course  of  a 
lecture  on  atropine,  delivered  by  a  distinguished  lady-physician,  before  tlie  stu- 
dents of  the  Woman's  College  of  the  Xew  York  Infirmary,  it  would  seem  that 
three  persons— one  a  ''rather  robust  woman  in  good  health"— were  thus  utilized. 
In  summing  up  what  was  observed,  the  lady-lecturer  is  reported  thus : 

"In  the  three  cases  where  we  te.ned  tlie  action  of  atropine  on  hiiinan  beings  before  your 
eyes,  we  observed  a  fall  of  the  pnlse  within  ten  minute^.  ...  In  the  second  case  the 
subject  zeas  a  rather  robust  zeoiuan  in  good  liealtJi.  'I  he  pnlse  heins?  at  So,  one-fiftieth  or 
sulph.  atrop.  was  given  by  subcntaneons  injection.  In  seven  niinnte^  the  pnlse  had  fallen 
to  68.  In  hfteen  minutes  came  a  dryness  of  the  throat  and  slighi  giddniess.  In  twenty  min- 
utes the  pulse  had  ri>en  to  104.  .  .  .  Thi>  initial  fall  of  tlie  pulse  ...  is  too  trans- 
itory   to    be    of    any    value    therapeutically,    but    physiologiealty    it    is    extremely    interesting. 

•  •  • 

This  experimenter  is,  to-day.  one  of  the  most  distinguished  women  in  the 
medical  profession.  She  is  a  strong  advocate  ot  animal  vivisection,  imrestricted 
by  any  law.  To  her  dotibtless  belongs  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  woman 
in  America  to  have  under  her  control  a  laboratory  for  the  vivisection  of  animals. 

''A  very  healthy  Irish  hoy."  Under  the  title:  "■S])hvgmographic  Experi- 
ments upon  a  Human  Pirain.  l^xposed  by  an  (;)])ening  in  the  Cranium."  Dr. 
IMary  Putnam-Jacobi  of  Xew  \'nrk  has  (le>cribe(l  a  >eries  of  ex|)eriments  made 
upon  "J.>sie  Xolan.  aged  ten."  who,  <(.nie  eighteen  months  nrevioush  .  had  stis- 
tained  a -fracture  of  tbe  >ktill.  Dr.  Putnam-jacobi  tell>  ii>  that  "tbe  ease  offered 
a  unique  opportunit}'  for  the  >tiid}  of  conditions  affecting  inter-cranial  pressure"; 
and  the  experiments,  apparent  1_\-.  consisterl  in  the  cidmini>iration  ,)f  various  pow- 
erftil  drugs,  and  in  noting,  by  mean>  of  the  sj)h\  gmograph.  their  etTect  ti])on  the 
circulation  of  l)lood  in  the  brain.  Among  the  stibstances  used  in  these  most 
singular  experiments  upon  "a  ver}-  healthy  Irish  l)o\-."  were  twentv  grains  of 
quinia.  causing  apparentl}-  a  '"ra])!*!  and  complete  colla])se  of  cerebral  arteries"; 
thite  drachms  of  brandy;  five  drops  ot  tincture  of  belladonna,  thr-.-e  tinu"^  a  dav 
for  fonr  da}-s.  and  hw  drops  ever_\-  three  liours  on  the  fifth  da\- :  twent\-  grains 
of  bronn^de  of  potassitnn.  ;  one  sixt>-fourth  of  a  grain  of  atropia  injected 
under  the  skin.  etc.  Wdiether  an_\thing  of  vahie  was  learned  1)\-  the  experiments 
we  are  not  told.  Dr.  Putnam-Jacobi  adds:  "To  what  extent  the  conclusions, 
drawn  from  these  observations,  are  in  accordance  with  existing  theories,  mav  ])e 
considered  on  another  occasion.  On  this,  we  content  ourselves  with  veeisferiii'^ 
the  faets."  This  is  the  true  scientific  spirit.  Whether  the  probable  escape  of 
this  "ver}'  healthy  Irish  boy"  from  any  serious  conseqtiences  of  the  experiments 
justified  these  investigations  upon  a  chiPl  is  a  question  upon  which  there  is  per- 
haps room  for  difference  of  oi)inion.-''     It  is  of  interest  to  note  that  Dr.  I^itnam- 

'\     Stille's  Therapeutics  and  Materia  ^Medica   (above  cited).  Vol.   II,  pp.  424-426. 
-''.     The  Medical  Record,  Xew  York  (ed.  by  Dr.  Geo.  F.  Shrad}),  Vol.  8.  pp.  249-250. 
^"'.     The    Am.   Journal   of   the   Medical    Sciences.   Vol.    102    (X.    S..   76),    Xo.   CLI    (Xew 
Series  ).  pp.  103- 112. 

12 


Jacobi  1^  most  vehementlx  opposed  to  any  governmental  supervision  or  regulation 
of  the  vivisectors  of  animal>.  She  says:  'AVe  have  repudiated  ilu  right  o^i  the 
church  to  control  the  proeeditres  and  conclusions  of  science.  W'liy  Tionld  we 
now  make  over  this  right  to  men  immersed  in  business  and  politics?  Are  fJiey 
an\  more  fitted  than  priesfsr-'  To  this  scornful  in<imr>-,  we  oppose  another 
for  the  consideration  of  thoughtful  men.  Should  not  the  State  have  the  right  to 
forbid  even  the  most  scientific  of  its  phvsiologists  to  experiment  thu^  upon  ^a 
healthv  lad  without  supervision  or  control?    Are  ex])erts  in  science  als.o  expert^  m 

morals? 

Ameriean  Soldiers  as  Material  for  Bxperiments.  Some  years  since  the 
scientific  world  was  informed  that  certain  experiments  had  been  made  upon 
American  soldiers  at  the  United  States  Army  Ilospital  by  American  physicians. 
The  object  of  their  investigations  was  to  sttuiy  the  action  upon  human  beings 
of  two  poisonous  substances--atropia  and  morphia.  Just  so  far  as  the  experi- 
ments were  made  upon  suffering  men,  in  the  hope  of  giving  relief  from  pain, 
and  at  the  same  time  contributing  to  medical  knowledge,  there  can  be  nothing  to 
criticize  in  any  way.  There  is  reason,  however,  to  believe  that,  moved  by  the 
zeal  which  science  insi)ires,  in  some  cases  these  experimenters  went  far  beyond 
this.  For  example,  in  the  report  of  their  investigations  ai)pear  the  follMwing  state- 
ments : 

••\\\-  tinallv  entered  upon  a  delil)erate  conr'^e  of  cxi)cnnu'iu^  wiili  ihe  iniciin..ii  ru  ascer- 
taining in  what  respect  .  .  .  the  two  drugs  in  (lue.tion  were  antagonistic.  .  .  . 
The  exhrrinieufs  which  we  shall  now  relate  were  nu>st  of  them  nnuir  up^oi  soldiers  who  were 
suffering  from  painful  neuralgic  diseases,  or  fn.ni  -.me  cau^c  enlailmg  pain.  In  .onie  ca^es. 
however,  comale.cent  men  were  the  subjects  of  our  observations,  but  uijio  instance  were 
they  allowed  to  know  wh.it  agents  we  used,  or  what  effects  were  expected.' =" 

••Tiic  std,iccts  of  our  r.vi^orimeuts  xNcre  nun  fr.r  fmm  fever.  Some  were  suffering 
from  neuralgia,  and  some  voiv  men  in  very  fair  liealtli.  .suspected  of  malmgermg.^^  .  .  . 
The   patiMU    uas   kept   recnml)ent   for  some  time  before   and   durmg  the  ob.servation.  " 

In  other  woixis,  United  States  soldiers,  some  of  whom  were  "in  verv  lair 
health."  some  slowlv  recovering  from  wounds  or  disease,  were  ii>ed  a:^  research 
material   for  experiments  with  jiowerful  drng>.  and  were  not  permitted  to  kn-w 

what  was  being  done  I 

The  object  of  these  experiment-  was  the  -tudv  of  two  drugs,  morphia  an^l 
atropia,  dven  separatelv  or  in  combination.  One  is  impressed  by  the  abundance 
of  the  human  material  at  the  disposal  of  these  investigators;  they  make  not 
merelv  one  or  two  ex])eriments.  but  whole  "series  of   eA-peruueois    : 

-hi  tiir  next  srnes  oi  rxrorimru !s  wr  cndeaTorcd  to  icani  whether,  uheii  uill  ^doses 
of  morphia  and  atropia  were  injected  together,  the  tulsc  zo.'uld  ho  nonioied.  .  .  .  1  he.e 
observations  were  checked  Iw  two  other  sets  of  experiments.  In  ^mo  we  gave  a  tuu  do>e 
of  morphia  subcutaneously,  and  when  the  pupils  were  well  contracted,  or  the  cerebral^  in- 
fluence clearly  marked,  the  atropia  was  employed.  In  the  other  we  gave  the  atn.pia  hr^t. 
and  when  it  began  to  show  an  effect  on  the  pulse  we  injected  a  lull  do^e  ot  morpaia. 

Very  singular  experiments,  these,  to  be  made  by  American  surgeons  upon 

American  soldiers ! 

^r^'ivisection :      Hearing   before  the    Senate    Committee   on    the  ^District    of    Columbia, 

Februarv  21    n>oo;  Washington:  Government  Printing  Office;  p.  50- 
-      Am.   Jonr.   Med.    Sciences.   Xew   Series.  Vol.  50,   Xo.   XCIX    (.Xew    Series),   pp.  69 
and   70. 
Same.  p.  /i- 
Same,  pp.  72  and  7.V 


211 


■^^ 


13 


And  still  other  experiments  upon  the  eye  and  brain: 

'•Effect  on  the  Eye.  It  is  needless  to  show  anew  that  atropia  dilates  and  morphia  con- 
tracts the  pupillary  aperture.  Our  observations  consisted  in  using  injections  of  botli  drugs 
in  siiccc^Mon  ..r  ingetlier  so  as  to  note  hoiv  they  innuenced  the  iris.  Their  antagonism  was 
here  very  plain.  ...  It  was  noticeable  that  the  accommodation  often  remained  para- 
lyzed for  an  hour  or  more  after  the  pupils  had  been  relieved  from  the  effects  of  the 
atropia.     . 

It  was  of  course  found  difficult  to  regulate  the  doses  so  that  they  should  always  neu- 
tralize one  another  precisely,  even  for  a  brief  period,  and  hence  it  was  common  to  see     .     . 
a^  condition   of  complete   antagonism  prevailing  for  a   time   only,   when  one  or  other  medi- 
cine would  dominate  the  system.     ... 

^The  effects  of  fJie  tzi'o  drugs  upon  the  cerebral  functions  were  studied  separately,  with 
care,  1111(1  tlien  in  a  second  series  of  observations  tliey  were  used  together  or  in  succession.""' 

Here,  then,  is  a  typical  instance  of  wholesale  experimentation  upon  human 
beings.     How    these    experiments    will    be    palliated    and    excused    by    the    dis- 
tinguished   men    who   performed   them,    it   is    easy    to    foretell.      We     shall     im- 
^doubtedly   be  told   that   all  this   happened   some  years   ago;   that   the   American 
soldiers,  thus  used  as  material,  suffered  no  permanent  injurv  from  the  experi- 
ments to  which  they  were  subjected;  that  the  investigators  were  purely  disin- 
terested :  that  the  scientific  questions  involved  were  of  great  interest,   and  that 
results  might  possibly   have   been  obtained   which   would   have  proveti   of  great 
service  to  medical  science.     But  even  if  we  grant  all  this,  and  accord  to  these 
gentlemen  the  purest  of  personal  motives,  can  we  say  that,  in  sucli  defense,  they 
touch  the  chief  point  at  issue  in  all  this  matter  of  human  vivisection?    Here  were 
a  number  of  living  human  beings,  who  for  a  brief  period,  on  account  of  mis- 
fortune, were  temporarily  in  their  power.      Uliat  mora!  right  had  these  medical 
gentlcuien  thus  to  experiment  upon  the  eye,  the  pulse,,  the  brain  of  a  single  soldier 
Of'  fJiis  Repubtie,  who  was  purposely  nut  "allowed  to  know  what  agents"  were 
used."     That  is  the  onl}-  ([uestion  which  is  here  raised.     Even  granting'  the  utility,   ' 
who   confers  upon   anyone  the  moral   right   to   test  poisoiis  on   h.is  feUoze-men?' 
Does  any  possible  utility  to  science  justify  it?     Are  all  these  experiments  made  by 
Ringer,  by  Ai'buckle.  b}-  Lawrie  an.d  a  host  of  others  to  be  condoned  and  com- 
mended   because    the    motive    was    the    advancement    of    science?      Above    all 
questions  of  protit  or  expediency  or  scientific  gain,  are  there  not  certain  stand- 
ards of  right  and    wrong  b}-   which    such   experiments   as   these   should    be   tm- 
hesitatingly  condemned  ^ 

In  a  pamphlet  concerning  human  vivisection,  published  a  few  vears  since 
by  the  American  Hunianc  Association,  attention  was  directed  to  some  scientific 
experiments  upon  dying  children  made  in  a  Boston  Hospital  and  to  similar 
experiments  upon  lunatics  in  a  Baltimore  Insane  Asylum.  Replying  apparently 
to  some  newspaper  comments  on  these  investigations,  there  appeared  in  the  col- 
umns of  the  Baltimore  Sux,  and  later,  in  the  ''Journal  of  the  American  Medical- 
Association,"  a  letter  bearing  the  signature  of  Dr.  ^^^  W.  Keen,  a  Philadelphia 
surgeon.    Therein  he  refers  to 

"a  pamphlet  published  by  the  mi--called  'American  Humane  Society,'  dealing  .  .  .  with 
all  the  instances  which  their  drag-net  had  been  able  to  cull  from  the  medical  literature  of  the 
world.     Instead  of  human  \-ivisection  being  practiced  'to  a  considerable  extent,'  that  pamph- 


31 


Same.  p.  j^^- 


14 


let  could  give  only  tzvo  instances  of  anything  resembling  experiments  on  human  beings  in 
this  country — one  in  Massachusetts  and  one  in  Maryland.'"^ 

Coming  from  Dr.  Iwen.  this  seems  to  us  a  verv  singular  letter.     We  think 
the  average  reader  would  almost  certainly  imagine  tliat  Dr.  W.  W  .   Ixecn  him- 
self was  aware  of  ])ut  tK'O  instances  of  anything  like  luinian  vivisection  in  the 
medical  annals  of  our  country.    But  the  "medical  litei-ature  of  the  world"  is  vastly 
richer  in  details  of  these  most  deplorable  expermients  than  is  suggested  by  this 
letter;   and  we  are  sure  that  upon  reflection  a  scholar  of  his  distinction  would  be 
readv  to  acknowledge  it.    We  are  quite  confident,  for  instance,  that  T'^r.  Keen  now 
will  be  able  to  recollect  the  foregoing  ''series  of  ex])eriments,"  made  upon  Ameri- 
can soldiers  in  the  United   States  Armv  Hospital.     The  utility  of  these  human 
vivisections  doubtless  he  will  still  maintain  ;    but  may  we  not  hope  he  would  also 
add   that  no   conceivable  utility  to   science   can   justify   such   infringement   upon 
human  riehts?     Certainlv  everv  one  interested  in  the  pronmlgation  of  scientific 
truth  must  deeply  regret  that  when  Dr.  Keen  thus  apparently  suggested  the  ex- 
treme infrequencv  of  "anytJu]ig  resendding  experiments  on  human  beings  in  this 
country,"   he  should   have  so  completely   forgotten   the   report   pul)lished   in   the 
American  Journal  of  the  Wedical  Sciences,  Xo.  xcix,  (  Xew  Serie-).  p.  67.  "On 
the  Antao^onisni  of  Atropia  and  Morphia,  Pounded  upon  Obserrali(^us  and  Ex- 
periments made  at  the  i\  S.  A.  Hospdal   [etc.].     By  S.  Weir  Witchell,  M.  D., 
William  W.  Keen.  W.  D..  and  George  R.  [Morehouse.  ^I.  D.'' 

In  another  respect,  we  l)elieve  this  communication  of  l^r.  Keen  to  have  been 
a  mistake.  Could  anybody  dream  that  the  "two  instances"  thus  referred  to  really 
covered  no  less  than  eight  ex])erimenis  u])on  hmatics.  nia<le  in  one  charitable 
institution,  and  forty-five  experiment^  upoii  sick  and  <lying  children,  i^^rformed 
in  a  hospital  specially  consecrated  to  their  care?  Because  the  object  of  investiga- 
tion i.-.  identical,  is  it  but  one  experiment—no  matter  how  many  children  are  used? 
W^c  are  quite  certain  that  the  public  will  n^t  accept  Dr.  Keen's  singular  method 
of  enumeration,  liowever  scientific  it  m.'!\   >een.i  to  him. 


EXPERIMENTS  ON   CHILDREN. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Xew  York  Academy  of  Medicine,  held  Dec.  1.  1887,  a 
Dr.  [.  W.  Stickler,  of  Orange.  Xew  Jersev,  presented  a  \rdpcr  iiy.on  ■•Foot-and- 
Mouth  Disease  as  It  Afi'cets  Man  and  Animals,"  etc.'"'  He  had  conceived  the 
theory  that  this  epidemic  disorder,  so  fatal  to  certain  animals,  had  a  particular 
relation  to  scarlet  fever;  and  that  if  human  beings  were  inoculated  with  the 
virus  of  this  animal  disease,  it  might  render  tliem  immune  to  the  infection  of 
scarlatina.  To  test  the  theory— one.  by  the  way,  utterly  discredite<l  and  ^)r- 
gotten  at  the  present  time— Dr.  Stickler  made  a  number  of  "experiments"  ot  the 
most  dangerous  kind,  upon  children  entrusted  to  his  professional  care.  The 
Xew  York  [Medical  Record  of  Dec.  10,  1887,,  prints,  as  its  leading  articl.  .  this 
paper  in  full. 

ddie  first  victim  of  this  human  vivisector  was  a  little  bny,  al)out  eight  wars 
of  age,  who  had  never  had   scarlet   fever.     First,  the  lad  was  inoculated   with 

^"TTetter  of  Dr.  W.  W.  Keen  to  Baltimore   Sux.  and    reprinted  in  journal  of  American 
Medical  Association,  June  2,  1900.  Vol.  34.  P-  U3^- 
^.     Boston  ^ledical  and  Surgical  Journal,  Dec.  22,  1887,  pp.  ()07-6o9. 

15 


the  v!ri!>  of  fnot-aivl-iiioiuli  disease,  an  ailment  very  fatal  to  certain  <nunc>tic 
animals.  Aftt-r  hi-  wc<>wry  froni  ih.i-,  lir  wa-  tlelihcratelv  exposed  to  the 
infection  of  scarlet  fewr.  inw  nf  thr  in.^M  tcrnblc  uf  all  diseases  to  which  children 
are  liable.      The  cxpiTinu'ntcr  >har!  tell  the  ^tnr\-  in  hi^  own  words: 

"lie  was  then  tak   ii  to  a  house  in  which  thi^re  was  a  hoy  sick  with  scarlet  fever. 

His  parent--  ])eniu  [xn.r,  ilic  ni'iow  n[)<.ui  wliicli  tlie  patient  lay  kiad  n^i  heen  exchanged 
.  .  .  >mce  the  beginr.in.cr  "f  the  sickness.  77;/.s  pillozu  zvas  placed  oi-o-  flic  face  of  the 
boy  loiio  liad  been  inoculated,  and  Jield  there  some  time.     He  was  then  made  to  inhale  the 

brcatli   .'T   tiie  fafient."''^ 

Xow.  what  do  American  fathers  and  mothers  think  of  such  experiments, 
if  secretly  made  upon  their  own  children?  I'ecause  these  parents  were  i^morant 
and  "poor,"  is  the  experiment  to  he  condoned?  Is  it  any  excuse  to  tell  us  that, 
after  all,  the  lad  did  not  suffer  from  scarlet  fever,  althouodi  he  was  forced  by 
stron.q-  arms  to  run  the  risk  of  infection?  If  this  child  had  taken  the  disease 
and  had  died  from  it,  does  anyone  think  that  the  details  of  that  scientific  murder 
would  ever  have  come  to  lioht? 

A  second  victim  of  this  experimenter  upon  the  bodies  of  human  being's 
was  a  little  girl,  only  four  }  ears  old.  The  vivisect(M-  tells  us  that  he  inoculated 
her  in  the  arm — 


"with  a  >nia]l  ([nantity  or  the  foot-and-inrnuii 
103    degrees    F.      Her   mouth,    was    sore,     .     . 
her   throat.     She    had   .dighi   headache.     .     . 
ill  the   lir.-t  case.     .     .     ."^^ 


\ini-.     On  Marcli    13th  her  teinpcrature  rose  to 

.     >he   complained    df   a   pricking    -en-ation    in 

.     The   same  phm   ui   expu>ure   wa^   adopted  as 


She.  too,  escaped  contracting  scarlet  fever,  and  a  third  victim  to  science 
had  a  like  good  forttme.  d^hat  th"\-  did  not  become  infected  with  the  dread 
disease  and  die.  certainl)  wa>  not  due  to  an\  lack  of  zeal  uii  the  part  of  this 
\'i\i-octor  ot   children. 

ddiese  were  not  the  only  experiments  iiiadc  b\-  Dr.  Stickler:  ho  had  been 
making"   similar  ex|)crimends    for  year>.      dlui>   ho   savs : 

'dn  the  early  jiart  <  f  the  year  1883  1  inoctihited  tweUe  perMJir-  wil.h  virus  obtained 
from  lior-e-.  .  .  .  'fiiesc  tieel-ee  persons  Zi'crc  also  inoculated  -.eith  Human  scarlatinal 
blood  after  {hi:y  h.ad  Iieen  inoculated  withi  equine  virus.  During  the  ,-iiinmer  of  the  same 
_,ear  /  in>>culateil  thirteen  cluldren.  all  of  whom  IkuI  been,  and  v,  ere  at  the  time  of  inocula- 
ti(.»n,  expi)-ed  to  the  mdiience  of  ai^-  contaminated  \>y  th.'  breath  and  exh.alations  of  scar- 
latina.] patient'-.  .  .  .  During  tlie  la.-t  year  I  liave  inoculated  tv>-o  children  with  the 
onteiit-  of  a  \'e^icle  produced  in  the  abdomen  of  a.  calf  liy  inoculation  :e:(h  eirus  derived 
froui  a  patient  zelic  had  scarlet  iceer."'^'' 

About  these  horrible  facts,  therefore,  there  can  be  no  dispute,  for  thev  rest 
on  the  confessi(»n  of  the  experimenter.  A  reptUable  member  of  the  medical 
profession  was  able  to  indtice  parents — Ijy  wha.t  re])resentations  or  promises  we 
kn(»\v  not — to  give  over  their  children  as  the  subjects  of  scientific  experiments 
that  itiight  mave  terminated  in  death.  Little  ones,  free  froni  any  serious  ail- 
ment, were  deliberately  inoculated  with  the  virtis  of  a  horrible  disorder,  pectiliar 
to  certain  domestic  animals.  After  recover}'  from  its  ettects,  they  were  sub- 
jected to  still  another  phase  o^f  lunnan   vivisection  by  l)eing  carefully  exposed — - 


36 

\    • 


Xew  \'ork  Medical  fxecord.  Dec.  10.  1S87.  p.  ^28^. 
Xew  York  Medical  Record.  Dec,  10.  1S87,  p.  728. 
Xew    York  Medical  Record.  Dec.   10.   1887.   pp.  731   and  jt,2. 

16 


or  forced  to  expose  themselves— to  the  infection  of  one  of  the  worst  and  most 

fatal  of  all  the  diseases  that  afflict  and  endanger  the  fife  of  a  child.  \\  e  are  told 
that  none  of  the  victims  of  these  experiment^  contracted  the  disorder.  Mav  it 
not  be  possible  that  all  the  facts  have  not  been  disclosed.-^ 

The  ])a];er  .U-cribing  diese  experiments  upo'i  little  children  was  read  he- 
fore  a  regidar  meeting  of  the  .\ew  York  Acadu-my  .  o"  Medicine.  Dec.  T,  iSSj' 
and  wa-  received  with  expre^dons  of  great  iiiteresi.  In  the  di^cti.-Mo.ii  th;it 
followed.  M.me  of  tlie  lea<linL'-  physicians  01  Xdw  ^^.^k  Odv  took  pan.  Dr. 
Andrew  11.  Smith  inutnred  whether  it  wa-  an  easy  matter  to  ])iMeure  vinr-  so 
dhat  the  >U])idv  could  be  kep)t  u])  m  case  the  method  came  into  -uieral  reijuisi- 
de)n.  Dr.  \.  Lewis  Smith  expressed  don1)t.s  of  the  ex]u:diene\-  oi  siudi  mvesti- 
o-ations  and  pointed  out  that  "by  inoculating  with  the  bovine  scarlatinotis  vn'tis, 
we  might  produce  severe  and  fatal  epidemics. 

Lrofessor  Law,  the  welLknown  veterinarian  of  Cornell  TdniversUy.  speak- 
ing as  a  scientist,  expressed  his  scepticism  regarding  the  method  of  exi.erimenta- 
tion,  and  pointed  out  that  rp.ooo  deaths  from  scarlatina  had  occtu-red  in  (  .reat 
Britain  dtndng  the  prececding  five  years.  Lie  strongly  tu'ged  that  investigations 
of  this  kind  '"'should  l)e  carried  on  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic,  as  it  would 
be  a  veiw  serious  matter  if  that  affection  should  Ik'  introduced  in  tln>  way  among 
Anieric:in  cattle,  and  he  had  n(-*  diotd)t  that  there  would  be  a  ^eoeral  ouferv  ooooii^- 
llic  coll!  em  en  if  it  were  kn(nvn  that  exDcriments  were  l)emg  made  with  the  vnms 
of  the  disease  in  this  country."  No  suggestion  w-i^  made  ^^i  imv  "out- 
cry"" among  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  American  children  liable  to  infection-ex- 
periments of  this  kindi:  it  was  the  American  ealllcinen  whose  ])r.itests  were 
feared..  Xot  a  word  of  criticism  made  upH)n  these  ex])eririieiUb  jroni  the  stand- 
point of  Ihcir  inniioralily  a])pears  in  the  repiUd. 

A  full  ^ummarv  of  these  child-vivisections  was  printed  by  Tiik  Jourx  \l 
OF  ddii:  Amkrkax  '.Mia.ieAL  dvSSOCiATiON^"  of  Chicago:  The  Medical  News^« 
of  Dhiladel]dua,  the  Boston  Medical  axd  Slroical  Jourxal",  and  both  1  he 
Xf.w  \d.Kiv  ^Iedical  Journal^^  and  the  Medical  Record'^^  oi  NAav  Yurk. 
With  words  rd'  remonstrance  or  condentnation  ?     Xot  one. 

Even  yet,  we  are  not  without  hope  for  better  things.  We  luartilv  wi-h  that 
the  dav  mav  come  when,  in  utterances  that  can  not  be  misunderstood,  ilie  medical 
'  press  of  this  cotmtrv  >hall  ex])end  its  vigor  of  denunciatiuii,  nut  upon  tliose  Axho 
bring  infamv  to  the  light  of  day,  but  upon  the  wretch.cd  experimenters  ti]>  .n 
human  victims,  whose  deeds  bring  scandal  upon  science  and  disgraee  n])on  the 
I.ractice  of  medicine.  Xo  doubt  it  will  recitiire  some  degree  of  moral  courage  tor 
the  conductors  of  an  American  periodical  to  take  this  stand;  probably  it  will 
alienate  the  support  of  a  few  well-known  vivisectors.  But  anv  <;uch  loss,  we  arc 
sure,  will  be  more  than  compensated  by  an  enhanced  self-respect  ;iiid,  an  increa'^ed 
public  confidence  and  esteem. 


38. 

39- 
40. 

41. 


Dec.  24,  1887,  pp.  827-829. 
Dec.  10.  1887,  pp.  688-690. 
Dec.  22,  1887.  pp.  607-609. 

Ta:].  14,  i<'^«'^<'^.  'OV.  -\')   and  50. 
Dec.  10,  1887,  pp.  745-746. 


THE  VIVISECTION   OF   HOSPITAL   PATIENTS. 


J 


The  British  Medical  Journal  of  July  7,  1900,  page  60,  says: 

"Grjss  auiiscs  in  any  profession  should  not  be  hushed  up,  but  should  rather  be  made 
public  as  freely  as  possible,  so  as  to  rouse  public  opinion  against  them  and  thus  render  their 
re[)ci!iion  or  spread  impossible.     And  therefore  we  have  reason  to  thank  the  Social-Democrat 
r.eu^l)ai)er  \'or\varN  fur  dragging  into  light  the  'experiments'  made  by  Dr.  Stubcll   [StrubeJl] 
(fir^t   as5i^ta^t   ni    Professor   Stinzing's   cHnic  at  Jena)    on  patients   suttcrii.q-   from   diabetes 
msipidu?.  and  published  by  liim   in  the  Archiv   fiir  klinische  Medizin   [  Deuisches  Archiv  fur 
Kliui^du-     Mcdicin.     Dec.    22,     1898J.      Dr.    Stubcll     [Strubcj]]     there    relates    how     he    kept 
one    Mt     his     patient^    in    an   attic     witli     ])arred     windows,  the     door    of    which     he    locked, 
putting-   tlie   key   in   lii^   pocket;   Imw   th.e   patient,   wlio   was   allowed   onl\-   a   small   amount   of 
^'^h-;'-   '''   ^^'^  t>.rinrii;g  :hir>t   which   is  a  symptom  of  the  disease,  drank  hi>   wadiing  water, 
so    th.at    he    wa>    tiien    no    longer   allowed    to   wadi    him>clf;     how    one   night,    in    Ins    agony, 
•     •     •      '     ^'0^^'    anotlK-r  night   lie    wrenched   otf  one   of   his    window   bars,   cliudjcd   over  the 
roof  1,,  aiK^tiier  Miiall  wmd-.w.   thrMngh   which  he  crept,  thus  finding  h!>  way  to  a  water-tap, 
where  he  was  captured  and  brought  back  to  his  prison.     Dr.  Stubcll   [Strubell]   calmly  states' 
that  his  patient  nin.^t  have  'endured  fyi^htfiil  tortures'  one  night,  and  gives  the  following  ac- 
count .'t  Ins  condition  in  tlie  ninmmg  ;  -'ihe  patient  wa,^  (piite  collapsed,  his  tace  seemed  dried 
up.    eyes    an«l    cheek-,    deeplj/    .-iinken.    pulse   almost    inipercepfible.    a    great    deal    ..f   pain,    the 
jomts  stiff.'     TJic  zchole  medical  profession  must  reprobate  cruelties  such  as  these  perpetrated 
in  tiic  nanie  of  science." 

What  ail  iiispiraticn  toward  rii^hteotisness  arc  words  like  those  coniino-  from 
stich  a  source!  How  almost  inhnite  is  the  contrast  l)ctween  this  iK^iiest  otit- 
spoken  condemnation  of  "cruelties,"  and  the  paltering-  apologies  and  exctises 
which  seem  to  rind  ])rincipal  expression  on  this  side  of  the  ocean. 

One  of  the  most  horrible  cases  of  htiman  vivi-eciinn  in  this  country,  and 
one.  too,  whicli  wa-  terminated  by  tlte  death  of  the  viclinj..  occtu'red  in  one  of  the 
hospitals  of  Cinciimati,  Ohio. 

1  he  experiments  were  performed  b)y  a  physician  who,  for  manv  vears,  was 
connected  with  one  of  th,^  leading-  medical  schools  of  Philadelphia;  a  nian  who  is 
wideix-  known  throughotit  the  Ihiited  States.  Under  the  significant  title:  "Ex- 
penuieiital  Iireesti-atiuiis  into  the  I-iinctioiis  of  the  Ilmnan  jlrain,"  the  experi- 
menter ptiblished  his  stor\-  to  tlie  world,  appaixntlv  assured  that  its  scientific  ii.-. 
terest  would  outweigh  whatever  objections  from  a  moral  standpoint  might  be 
urged.  The  case  is  so  excellent  an  illustration  of  scientific  degeneracy  that  it 
deserves  to  be  told  somewliat  in  detail. 

To  an  in-titution.  hearing-  the  comforting  name  of  tlie  Good  Saalmutax 
HosPiTAF.  there  came  .uie  da\-  a  poor  woman  In-  the  name  of  ?^Iary  Rafterty. 
A  domestic  >ervant  In  occupation,  strong-  neither  in  mind  nor  body,  she 
had  sustained  an  accident  which  made  her  good  "material"  for  a  dangerous  ex- 
perinK^nt.  Wdien  a  child,  site  had  fallen  into  the  fire  and  severely  hut-ned  her 
scalp:  and  a  few  months  before,  in  the  scar-tissue,  an  eroding  ulcer  had  ap- 
peared, which  graduall}-  had  laid  bare  the  hrain-substance.  Apparently  any  cure 
of  her  trouble  was  seen  at  once  to  be  hopeless;  but  she  ])resented  a  chance  for 
making  scientific  experiments  of  a  kind  such  as  had  hitherto  l)cen  made  only  upon 
dumb  animals.  We  are  twice  told  by  the  experimenter  tliat  she  was  "rather  feeble- 
min<led,'''  and  we  may  thus  jtidge  the  value  of  her  "consent"  to  experimentation 

18 


I 


— if,  indeed,  her  consent  was  ever  asked.  She  did  not  complain  of  headache  or 
vertigo ;  she  was  ''cheerful  in  manner,"  and  smiled  "easily  and  frequently,"  with 
•child-like  confidence  and  perfect  faith  in  the  goodness  of  those  about  her. 

"It  is  obvious,"  says  the  experimenter  at  the  outset,  "that  it  is  exceedingly 
desirable  to  ascertain  how  far  the  results  of  experiinent  on  the  brain  of  animals 
may  he  employed  to  elucidate  the  function^  of  the  human  brain."  He  com- 
menced his  vi\!sections,  therefore,  upon  Mary  Raffcrty  by  inserting  into  the  sub- 
stance of  the  brain,  thus  exposed  by  disease,  insulated  needle  electrodes  of 
various  lengths,  and  connecting  them  w  iili  a  battery.  Exact  I  \  what  would  be  the 
result,  nobodv  knew:  but  "dt  wa>  l)eiieved  that  difi'usion  of  the  current  could 
be  a-  restricted  as  in  the  experiments  of  Fritsch  and  1  luzig  and  berrier.  made 
upon  animals,  ddie  first  two  expernuents  were  cautiouslv  made  a!id  e^•'d^edi  tlie 
usual  phenomena;  "the  arm  was  thrown  out.  the  fingers  extendedi.  ;iinl  ilu-  kg  was 
projected  forward,"  Init  no  pain  was  felt  "in  the  brain-substance  proper." 
Gathering  courage,  the  experimenter  went  a  little  farther,  reculiar  .sensations 
began  to  l^c  felt  l)y  the  victim.     Let  the  vivisector  tell  the  storv : 

'The  needle  was  now  wididrawn  fruiii  the  left  lobe  an<!  passed  in  the  same  way  in'n  the 
[brain  i  >nb>tancc  of  the  right-  .  .  .  When  the  needle  entered  the  brain-substance,  she 
complained  of  acute  pain  m  the  neck.  '  Tn  order  to  develop  more  decided  reactions,  the 
strcniitli  'f  the  current  wa.  increased  by  drawing  out  the  wooden  cylinder  one  inch.  When 
communication  was  niadi  with  the  needles.  Iicr  countenance  exhibited  great  distress,  and  she 
began  to  cry.  Very  soon  tlie  left  hand  was  extended  as  if  in  the  act  of  taking-  hold  of  some 
object  in  front  of  her:  the  arm  presently  was  agitated  with  clonic  spasms;  her  eyes  became 
fixed,  with  pupils  widely  dilated;  lips  were  blue,  and  she  frothed  at  the  mouth;  her  breathing 
became  stertorous;  she  lost  consciousness,  and  was  violently  convulsed  on  the  left  side.  The 
convnldoii  lasted  five  minutes,  and  was  succeeded  by  coma.  She  returned  to  consciousness 
in  twenty  minutes  from  the  beginning  of  the  attack.     .     .     .'" 

What  had  happened^  Simply  this:  the  distinguished  scientist  had  caused  in 
a  human  being  precisely  the  same  "violent  epileptiform  convulsion"  which 
Fritsch  and  Hitzig  and  b'errier  had  produced  in  the  lower  animals,  ami  by  the 
same  method  of  experimentation.  Dr.  Fcrrier  him.self,  m  some  observations 
upon  these  human  vivisections,  referred  to  the  "epllcptifrn-m  cnuYuUinu<"  as  a 
complete  parallel  to  his  own  results  upon  lower  animals. 

Perhaps  some  unscientific  pet-son  may  feel  that  tlie  experimenting  >hould 
have  ceased  at  this  point,  and  that  the  poor  girl  should  liave  been,  allowed 
to  go  home  and  die  in  peace.  But  is  this  other  than  mere  sentiment?  The 
president  of  Harvard  University  once  declared  thai  "to  interiere  v\  ith  or  retard 
the  })rogress  of  medical  discovery  is  an  inhuman  thing";  yet  we  cannot  believe 
he  would  have  approved  the  continuance  of  these  vi\  i-ections,  even  tlKjugh 
in  accord  with  that  sentiment.  Again,  this  experiment  upon  the  poor  creature's 
brain   was  performed;   the  needles  were  passed   into,   ilu'  ])rain:   the   same   phe- 


en.L   was  n- ■.[   si 


1 1  _ 


nomena  were  evoked,  "except  [that]  tlie  strength  of  the  curr 
ficient  to  produce  the  epileptiform  attack";  only  "muscular  coiiir:iciion^"  and 
"pain  and  tingling  in  the  extremities"  seem  to  have  l>een  caused.  Rut  11^  >t  yet 
had  she  served  the  demands  of  science.  Of  the  next  ex])eriment  veriormed.  the 
vivisector  himself  shall  tell  us  the  result: 


''\     Anuriean  Jour.  Med.  Sciences,  Vol.  93   (N.  S.,  67),  No.  CXXXA;  Xrw   Series,  np 

310-;,]  I. 

\  IS) 


/ 


J 


"Two  days  subsequent  to  observation  4,  Mary  was  brought  down  into  the  electrical  room 
with  the  intention  to  subject  the  posterior  lobes  to  galvanic  excitation.  The  proposed  experiment 
was  abandoned.  She  was  pale  and  depressed ;  her  lips  were  blue ;  and  she  had  evident  difficulty 
in  locomotion.  She  complained  greatly  of  numbness  and  tingling  in  the  right  arm,  shoulder, 
and  foot.  .  .  .  On  further  examination  there  was  found  to  be  decided  paresis  and 
rigidity  of  the  muscles  of  the  right  side  of  the  body.  .  ,  .  She  became  very  pale,  her 
eyes  closed,  and  she  was  about  to  pass  into  unconsciouness,  when  we  placed  her  in  the 
recumbent  posture,  and  Dr.  Steeley  gave  her,  at  my  request,  chloroform  by  inhalation."" 

"The  day  after  .  ,  .  Mary  ivas  decidedly  zcorse.  She  remained  in  bed,  was  stupid 
and  incoherent.  In  ilie  evening  she  had  a  convulsive  seizure,  lasting  about  five  minutes,  con- 
fined to  the  right  side.  After  this  attack  she  lapsed  into  profound  uncunsciousnes's,  and 
was  found  to  be  compJetely  paralyzed  on  the  right  side.  .  .  .  No  movcnicnis  of  any 
kind  could  be  excited  by  strong  irritation  of  the  skin  of  the  paralyzed  side.  .  .  .  The 
pii[)ils  were  dilated  and  motionless."" 

]I(>\v  >nnn  attcrwar'i  <li(l  she  die? 

\he  repdrt  dnv>  not  tell  ii>.  W'c  next  k-arn  of  ilu"  "autopsv."  Tlu'  hraiii 
\\a>  taken  (ait,  an<l  the  track  of  the  needles  traced,  one  having  penetrated  an 
inch  an.d.  a  half  throtiLdi  the  hrain-suhstance.  its  conrse  i)eing-  marked  "!)\-  S(»nie 
difiUient  cerel)ra!  matter."'"' 

Xo  coroner  was  called  in,)on  to  make  an  investigation.  (  )fticiallv  speak- 
in^-,  she  was  repe)rte(l  to  have  died  of  the  disease  from  which  she  had  been  so 
lung  stn'tcring. 

.\nd  yet  criticism  wa^  not  wanting.  In  sundry  periodicals  it  was  liinted 
tliat  >cience  had  gone  a  little  too  far.  ddie  experimenter  himself  admitted  this 
in  a  letter  to  the  T.ritish  Medical  Joinaial."'*^  Of  cottrse  he  made  excuses.  In  the 
first  place  he  declared  that  "the  |)atient  was  hopelessly  diseased."  Secondly, 
"the  jiatient  consented  t<»  ha\e  the  ex|)eriments  made."  Pait  twice  he  had  t«dd 
lis  that  she  was  "vathcj-  ! cc'^'C'inn'drii ,"  and,  of  cotu'se,  she  was  in  no  condition 
to  comprelK-nd  the  dangers  (>f  the  exi)eriment.  lonalh'.  he  informs  lis  that  death 
was  really  due  to  the  pr^  igress  of  the  disease.  We  expect  all  this.  No  victim  of 
such  research  will  e\er  die  from  an}'  experiment,  but  frum  some  other  cause. 
Yet  tile  exi)er;n'enter  frankly  admitted  that  his  experiments  had  been  injurious. 
He  had  l)clieve<l.  lie  said  afterwards,  that  small  needles  could  be  thus  "introduced 
without  injur}"  into  the  cerebral  substance.  /  ]io:c  kiiozu  that  I  i^'as  Jiiistakcii.  To 
repeat  such  experiments  with  the  knowledge  we  now  have  that  injur}'  will  be 
done  bv  them  .  .  .  icoiihi  be  in  flic  highest  dc^^rcc  criiiiifiaL"  lUit  he 
still  insists  that  in  his  own  case  the}'  did  not  cause  the  fatal  result.  W'e  may 
not  agree  with  all  of  his  defence,  but  we  are  in  hearty  accord  with  one  point. 
That  such  experiments  ne)t  onl}'  '"would  be"— -but  were — "///  ihc  liiglicst  dciiree 
criiniiuu."  is  a  conckusi(jn  about  which  there  will  be  nu  divergence  of  opinion 
among  right-thinking  men. 

Dr.  bk-rrier.  whose  experiments  upon  monkeys  had  led  indirectly  to  these 
human  \ivisections.  declared  in  regard  to  the  experiments  on  Mary  Ratterty,  that 
''zcluurz'cr  opuruni  max  be  ciiberlaliicd  ds  /()  their  propriety,  they  fiiriiisli  facts  of 
''-rear   :iit crest   in  relation   to  the  |)h}  siolog}-  of  the  brain."     He  speaks   of  "the 


43 
44 
45 

40 


Same.  p.  31 T, 
Same.  p.  31  I. 
Same,  p-  312. 
i^ntish   Medical  Jimrnal.  May  30,    1874,  p.   72;. 

•20 


V 

t 


depth  of  penetration  of  the  needles" ;  refers  to  "the  occurrence  of  epileptic  con- 
vulsions from  general  diffusion  of  the  irritation  when  the  currents  were 
intensified,"  and  finally  distinctly  afihrmed  that  the  ''epileptic  convulsions  and 
ultimate  paralysis  are  clearly  accounted  for  by  the  inflammatory  changes,  at  first 
causing  irritation  .  .  ."*''  In  experiments  upon  animals.  Dr.  Ferrier  tells  us, 
the  same  effects  haye  been  observed.  It  seems  apparent  from  the  tenor  of  his 
•communication  that  Dr.  Ferrier,  who  first  made  experiments  of  this  kind  on 
the  brains  of  monkeys,  had  little  doubt  as  to  the  cause  of  Mary  Rafferty's  death. 
Who  made  these  human  vivisections?  Was  it  some  young  surgeon,  lu.^t 
be^innino-  his  career?-'  AA\as  it  some  unknown  member  of  the  medical  |)ro- 
fession,  whose  obscurity  renders  him  the  safe  mark  of  general  obloquy.''  Ao. 
These  experiments  upon  a  poor  hospital  patient  were  made  by  one  -f  the  most 
eminent  physicians  in  the  Lkiited  States.  Among  the  men  c-mpMMng  tlie 
faculty  of  one  of  the  best-known  medical  colleges  in  the  United  States,  his  name, 
less  than  half  a  dozen  years  ago.  stood  first  on  the  list. 

''Dcmorali:zin<z  and  dc^eradin^^  e.vpcriineni."  Some  years  bince  there  appeared 
111  the  editorial  columns  of  The  New  York  .Medical  Record  (edited  l)v  Dr.  George 
F.  Shrady,  A.  M.),  a  unique  and  vigorous  condemnation  of  a  ceriam  lorm  of 
human  experimentation.     One  or  two  sentences  only  can  here  be  411-ted: 

"Not  satisfied  with  this,  a  few  progressive  ones  are  going  still  further  .  .  .  ami  arc 
selecting  women  for  the  baser  purposes  of  demoralizing  and  degrading  experiment.     "     * 

''There  are  some  things,  sncli  as  this,  which  even  DCience  cannot  clivesi  of  its  miniural 
aspects.  *  *  ^^  Are  we  not  presuming  a  little  too  much  for  science,  and  are  we  not  drift- 
nig  into  an  viditfcycncc  to  ordinary  decency,,  which,  as  a  learned  and  dignified  profession, 
we  should  take  every  pain-  to  prcxeni?"'"' 

Reo-ardmo  Tinman  X'ivisection.  wliat  is  the  attitude  of  the  eminent  surgeons 

and  phvsicians.  who  keep  before  the  public  e}-e,  of  ilie  editors  of  llie  leading 
medical  journals,  the  representatives  of  med.ical  opinir.n^  Arc  (]cc(U  such  as 
have  been  herein  described  regarded  as  laudable,  if  performed  only  111  )on  tlie 
ignorant  and  poor,  in  the  name  of  Science? 

No  such  creed  is  openl}  professed.  Is  it  held  in  secret.'  lake  the  repre- 
sentative medical  journals  in  the  ITiited  States.  No  one  can  attack  ur  criticize 
the  cruelties  pertaining  to  animal  vivisection  without  finding  them,  one  and  all. 
eager  to  maintain  the  right  of  the  vivisector  to  carry  on  his  ex])eriments  exactly 
as^ie  mav  wish.     How    do  they  stand  toward  the  men   who  make  experiments 


upon   human   beings? 


Ppssil 


)\\    we   ma\' 


luige   o 


1   tlic'ir    real    attitude   l)y    wdiat 
has  a  siiuyle  human 


they  have  Jiot  done.  During  the  past  ({uarter  of  a  ceiitur} 
vivisector  been  mentioned  by  name  with  condemnation  and  rebuke  111  tb.e  editorial 
culumns  of  any  medical  journal  of  the  United  States  that  uph-TA  tju'  unlimited 
vivisection  of  animals?     For  any  ^uch  condemnatiMii  we  have  searched  m  vain. 

Can  we  imagine  that  the  editors  of  medical  journals  thruughout  the  b'mt.-d 
States  would  be  so  absolutely  indifferent  to  the  atrocities  of  human  vivisection 
—printed  and  described  in  their  own  columns— unless,  m  reality,  such  deeds 
are  regarded  as  excusable,  if  thev  are  done  "f;i  the  iiarac  of  Seieiiee"r  We  know 
that  this  is  the  ground  upon  wdiich  they  justify  or  defend  the  worst  excesses  ot 


4T 


U 


The  London  Medical  Record,  May  13.  1874;  vol.  2.  pp.  285  and  280. 
The  Medical  Record  of  New  York.  Vol.  7,  pp.  4^-9,  470- 

2i 


^  x 


'! 


, 


/ 


animal  vivisection,      Drn:>  it  nnt  also  seem  to  them  to  applv  equall\'  to  the  vivi- 
section uf  babcs  ? 

Let  us  have  light  <;.ii  tin-  matter,  it  was  in  the  Bulletin  uf  1  he  Johns  Hop- 
kins Hospital  of  jiil\-,  1807.  V-  ^Z7'  ^'^'^^  ^'  ph\-ician.  connected  with  Johns  Hop- 
kln^  Lniver-ity,  ga\e  an  acciint  .^f  lii.-  experiments  upon  insane  patients,  made, 
as  lie  tells  u^,  '■for  the  purpose  of  ascerttiining  the  t'lxicit}"  (or  poisonous  quali- 
tie>j  of  a  certain  drug.  \\  ill  aii\  prl«fe^s<lr  of  J'.hii>  I  lopkins  Ldh\ersitv,  now  tell 
us  wlieii,  and  where,  he  ever  denounced  1)\-  name  that  experimenter  upon  defence- 
less men  and  UDiiieii :  Ian  he  mention  a  single  ex[)erimenter  upon  women  and 
children  whum  lie  has  ever  denounced,  or  ever  reproved — by  name?  Take  the 
editors  of  the  medical  periodicals  to  which  we  ha\e  just  referred.  During  the 
past  twent}-  years,  has  there  appeared  in  the  columns  of  these  journals,  a  single 
sentence  wherein  an\-  one  of  the  vivisectors  of  defenceless  women  and  little 
children  has  been  by  name  specihcall}  condemned?  It  was  the  Journal  of  the 
Afneriean  Medical  .-Issoeialion  of  Chicago,  which,  in  its  is.^ue  of  Aug.  4,  1900 
(p.  271  j,  published  the  statement  of  a  New  York  surgeon,  who  confessed  that  in 
order  "to  test  the  etfieieney  of"  a  newly-imported  instrument,  he  had  made  two 
poor  women,  ^uttering  from  internal  disease,  undergo  a  most  serious  surgical 
operation,  although  "they  leere  strietiy  inoperable  eases,  frojn  tlie  staiidpoint  of 
eiive."  L'an  the  Journal  imw  point  to  a  single  >entt.iice  in  \i>  coh.imns  wherein  a 
human  \ivi.sector  like  thi>  ha>  l)een  denounceil  In  name?  It  was  the  Medieal  Ree- 
ord  of  Xew  \'ork  which,  in  it>  i>>ue  of  Sept.  10,  1892  (p.  297;,  permitted  an 
-American  \ivisector  ()i  children  to  de>cribe  the  inoculation  of  innocent  little  2'irls 
with  the  virus  of  the  mo>t  awful  disease  known  t*j  humanity.  Will  the  editor 
of  the  Mediea!  Keeord  point  out  aii}  denunciation  of  this  experimenter,  or  of  any 
other  vivisector  (.f  his  kind,  which  has  appeared  in  it>  editorial  columns?  It 
wa>  the  Medieal  X ews  of  Philadelphia  which  m  its  issue  of  April  i,  1899  (yo\. 
74.  p.  388 j,  i)ublished  an  article  referring  to  the  "inoculations  of  cancer  from  man 
to  man,"  "done  both  intentionally  and  sueeessfiilly'  by  an  experimenter  who  "is 
disereetly  silen.t  zeith  re-ard  to  details."  Will  the  editor  of  the  Medieal  Xezos 
quote  Some  edit(jrial  expression  of  it,-  "repulsion"'  concerning  this  criminal,  and 
aire  word  of  denunciation  of  an)-  other  human  vi\isector  which  ever  appeared 
in  Its  edito.rial  columns?  It  was  the  Boston  Medieal  and  Suryieal  Journal  which, 
in  it.^  k.>ues  of  Aug.  0.  ^V)  (  \'ol.  135,  pp.  132-136),  and  Aug.  13,  1896  (Vol. 
^^3'  PP-  i^()-\C^o),  gave  to  the  world  an  account  of  "some  experimental  work," 
made  ui)on  sick  and  dying  children  in  a  Boston  hospital.  Will  the  editor  of  that 
periodical  point  us  to  any  passage  in  its  columns  wherein  this  vivisector  of 
infants  was  condemned? 

Among  all  of  these  journals,  is  there  a  single  one  that  even  now  dares  to 
come  out  in  clear  and  outspoken  condemnation  of  the  men  who  have  performed 
such  experiments  as  we  have  named?  We  know  what  to  expect.  Some  va^-ue 
and  meaningless  protest  against  ''improper  methods  of  scientific  investigation," 
some  appeal  for  prudence  in  the  publication  of  scientitic  experiments,  some  at- 

temi)ts  at   exculpation   or   defence — and    bitter   denunciation   of  this   exposure 

these,  of  cour.se,  will  appear.  But  is  it  not  possible  to  hope  for  more  than  this? 
If  it  must  be  admitted  that  not  a  single  human  vivisector  has  been  condemned 
b\    the  journals  we  have  mentioned,  may  not  some  reparation  be  made  by  the 

90 


einjliasis  of  their  future  utterances?  At  the  beginning  of  a  new  century,  we 
are  confmnfcd  by  great  problems.  One  of  these  is  human  vivisection  in  the 
name  of  scientific  research.     We  appeal,  then,  to  the  medical  press  of    Xnierica 

a>t.  t*::*  condone 


justify-  '  >r,  at 


to  break  that  unfortunate  silence  which  seun-  tr.. 
it.  Now  and  henceforth,  will  it  not  join  us  in  condcmninc'  evcrv  -uch  vivisector 
of  little  children,  every  such  experimenter  upon  hiinian  beings'  We  make 
this  appeal  to  it,  in  the  name  of  Justice  and  Humanity,  and  for  the  sake  of 
millions  yet  unborn. 

What  is  the  remedy  for  Human  Vivisection? 

It  has  been  practiced  by  men  of  national  reputation.  It  is  condoned,  de- 
fended, apologized  for  by  exponents  of  the  new  creed — that  Science  brooks  no 
interference  with  her  methods,  and  is  supreme  in  her  own  sphere.  There  is  but 
one  remedy.  It  is  legislation.  An  awakened  public  sentiment  must  demand 
that  experiments  like  these,  upon  the  poor,  the  defenceless,  the  ignorant  and 
the  weak,  shall  no  longer  he  permitted  but  shall  constitute  a  crime  in  every 
American  commonwealth.  To  this  end  we  invite  the  cooperation  of  all  into 
whose  hands  this  pamphlet  may  come. 

S.  R.  TABER, 
Secretary  of  Vivisection  Jleform  Society. 


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J. 


^ 


N 


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FORM  OF  BEQUEST. 


-Dollars 


E'    I  hereby  give  and  bequeath  the  sum  of __^ 

to  the  VIVISECTION  KEFOEM  SOCIETY,  a  corporation  organized  and 
existing  under  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  for  its  corporate  uses  and 
purposes. 


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